Where to watch Paris-Roubaix bike race on Sunday

Unless you’re out on your bicycle, it should be fairly easy to watch the Paris-Roubaix bike race on Sunday.

NBC Sports Network (the old Vs. channel on cable) is airing The Hell of the North from 9 to 11 a.m. Sunday (Eastern time), with a repeat from 7 to 10 p.m. EST.

Cycling.TV will offer a live webstream beginning at 7 a.m. Sunday (Eastern time); the first hour of coverage is free, but then you need a subscription.

Further, CyclingNews will offer live text updates at its website as will Amaury Sports Organization, the owner and promoter of the race. Also, there’s lots of coverage at Steephill Bike Travelogue.

Listening to the comments from cyclists on the GreenEdge squad, it’s easy to see why the 257.5k (160 miles) bike race gets so much attention. Rolling out from Paris to Roubaix in northern France, there’s usually bad weather and always bad roads — cobblestones — to contend with.

It’s the “mother of all mothers,” the “biggest one-day adventure on a bike you can have,” and “260k’s of torture,” according GreenEDGE teammates Matthew White, Stuart O’Grady and Baden Cooke. “It’s like being stuck in a washing machine and someone shaking the shit out of you,” says Matt Wilson.

This year’s race features 27 sections of cobblestones for a distance of 51.5k (32 miles). Team RadioShack boss Johann Bruyneel mounted a cheat-sheet for all the cobble sections on the team’s new Trek Domane bikes.

Belgium’s Tom Boonen (Omega Pharma-QuickStep) is a favorite to win his fourth Paris-Roubaix this year. Meanwhile Norway’s Thor Hushovd (BMC Racing) has his fans, as do Italians Filippo Pozzato (Farnese Vini-Selle Italia) and Alessandro Ballan (BMC) and Juan Antonio Flecha (Sky) of Spain.

Two American cyclists on the BMC Racing team have Paris-Roubaix histories. George Hincapie, at 38, has had a handful of near-misses at the classic. Meanwhile, his young counterpart, Taylor Phinney, 21, as twice won the “under-23” version of race.

There are so many factors that come into play at Paris-Roubaix, I think it’s probably a waste of time to guess the winning cyclist. I’m just going to get up early and enjoy and spectacle.