The second edition of Paris-Roubaix was held on the 18th April 1897.
32 professional and 28 amateur cyclists departed in the rainy Paris, but the 280 km long racerun mostly under sunny conditions.
The Italian-born French Maurice Garin, who is best known for winning the first Tour de France in 1903, and the Duch Mathieu Cordang arrived in the velodrome of Roubaix first. Unfortunatelly, Cordang crashed and, although he managed to get 2 m close to his rival again, Garin won the race.
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