It is a ritual that precedes the ritual: just days before the race, immediately after conducting his reconnaissance of all the cobblestone sections with his team, Amaury Sport Organisation publishes the list of gravel sections that will be tackled on Sunday in Paris-Roubaix assigning them the classic star ratings to indicate the level of difficulty.

The 123rd edition of the Queen of the Classics will be contested over a distance of 258.3 km, starting from Compiègne at 11 a.m. and finishing just before 5 p.m. at the André-Pétrieux velodrome. The intensity of the competition will be concentrated mainly on the 30 cobblestone sectors to be tackled starting from the entry point into the town of Troisvilles (km 95.8), for a total of 54.8 km (compared to 55.3 km in 2025).

The latest course reconnaissance, open to the media, allowed race director Thierry Gouvenou to explain the slight modification made to the approach of the cobblestone sections: «The first four sectors follow one another very rapidly so that asphalt is almost non-existent: this translates into an unprecedented density of stones. Towards the end of this sequence, we will add sector no. 26, which is even less frequently used, featuring an 800-meter climb».

The inspection of the Trouée d'Arenberg (km 163), the first of three five-star sectors alongside Mons-en-Pévèle (km 209.7) and Carrefour de l'Arbre (km 241.2), made it possible to assess the effectiveness of the mobile herd of goats mobilized over the past month to graze the grass and thus consolidate the cobblestones.

For the first time, the Paris-Roubaix Femmes Hauts-de-France will take place on the same day. The women will start from Denain - La Porte du Hainaut to tackle a distance of 143.1 km. The calendar change also brings an increase in cobblestone kilometers: 33.7 kilometers, 4.5 km more than last year. The women will face in particular the 17 sectors corresponding to the finale of the men's race, for a total of 29.2 km. Their arrival is expected around 6:20 p.m.

The 30 sectors of the Paris-Roubaix Hauts-de-France 2026

    30 : Troisvilles to Inchy (km 95.8 - 2.2 km) ***
    29 : Viesly to Quiévy (km 102.3 - 1.8 km) ***
    28 : Quiévy to Fontaine au Tertre (km 104.9 - 3.7 km) ****
    27 : Viesly to Briastre (km 111.1 - 3 km) ***
    26 : Briastre (km 114.9 - 0.8 km) ***
    25 : Solesmes to Haussy (km 123.7 - 0.8 km) **
    24 : Saulzoir to Verchain-Maugré (km 130.5 - 1.2 km) **
    23 : Verchain-Maugré to Quérénaing (km 134.9 - 1.6 km) ***
    22 : Quérénaing to Maing (km 137.5 - 2.5 km) ***
    21 : Maing to Monchaux-sur-Ecaillon (km 140.7 - 1.6 km) ***
    20 : Haveluy to Wallers (km 153.6 - 2.5 km) ****
    19 : Trouée d'Arenberg (km 163 - 2.3 km) *****
    18 : Wallers to Hélesmes (km 169.1 - 1.6 km) ***
    17 : Hornaing to Wandignies (km 175.9 - 3.7 km) ****
    16 : Warlaing to Brillon (km 183.3 - 2.4 km) ***
    15 : Tilloy to Sars-et-Rosières (km 186.8 - 2.4 km) ****
    14 : Beuvry to Orchies (km 193.2 - 1.4 km) ***
    13 : Orchies (km 198.2 - 1.7 km) ***
    12 : Auchy-lez-Orchies to Bersée (km 204.3 - 2.7 km) ****
    11 : Mons-en-Pévèle (km 209.7 - 3 km) *****
    10 : Méringnies to Avelin (km 215.7 - 0.7 km) **
    9 : Pont-Thibault to Ennevelin (km 219.1 - 1.4 km) ***
    8 : Templeuve - L'Epinette (km 224.5 - 0.2 km) *
    8 : Templeuve - Moulin-de-Vertain (km 225.1 - 0.5 km) **
    7 : Cysoing to Bourghelles (km 231.5 - 1.3 km) ***
    6 : Bourghelles to Wannehain (km 234 - 1.1 km) ***
    5 : Camphin-en-Pévèle (km 238.4 - 1.8 km) ****
    4 : Carrefour de l'Arbre (km 241.2 - 2.1 km) *****
    3 : Gruson (km 243.5 - 1.1 km) **
    2 : Willems to Hem (km 250.2 - 1.4 km) **
    1 : Roubaix (km 256.9 - 0.3 km) *