Roubaix Shower Block 2 - Limited Edition of 50 Photograph

The squat concrete building sits unassumingly at the entrance of the outdoor velodrome in Roubaix, Northern France. The cold cement and basic cubicles remain unchanged from when they were built in the 1940s. In the old days, the entire peloton would pile into the showers to spray off the layers of mud and dust. If journalists wanted a quote, they would head to the showers. My image shows how historical, quiet and lonely the block is nowadays due to the use of modern showers in the Team Tour Buses. But every so often a new rider will venture into the stone cubicles and get washed as a rite of passage as should any rider of The Hell of The North