Herd of goats used to clean up Paris-Roubaix's Arenberg Forest cobbles
Every year, the cobblestone roads used in Paris-Roubaix must be unearthed from the mud, grass and weeds that envelop them over the winter. This year, the race organisers hired a new crew to do the hard labor for peanuts: goats.
Not GOATs like Marianne Vos or Eddy Merckx.
Specifically, a herd of goats and sheep who performed the duties in a much more eco-friendly way than humans with gas-powered trimmers. The animals chewed their way across the 2,300 metres of pavé and revealing the Trouée d' Arenberg sector.
The ungulates are a part of an eco-grazing project called 'Les Biquettes de l'Espoir', which uses an endangered species of French domestic goats and threatened regional Boulonnais sheep, normally employed to remove invasive species like the Japanese knotweed.
The Women's Paris-Roubaix will take place on Saturday, April 8 and the men's Paris-Roubaix on Sunday April 9.
The pavé must be cleared of debris, inspected and, if necessary, restored before the riders tackle them in the WorldTour events, with organisers rating the sectors after a final review of the course in the week before the races.
♻️ Pour préparer le parcours de #ParisRoubaix, le désherbage de la Trouée d'Arenberg se fait par éco-pâturage.🐐 Dans le cadre de l'opération "Les Biquettes de l'Espoir", ce sont une 40aine de chèvres et moutons qui s'attèlent à désherber 2 300 mètres de pavés ! pic.twitter.com/Z7RPKTCzfoMarch 15, 2023
