Paris-Roubaix is a melancholy race. Away from the bombast of the front group or the sharpness of a rider hitting the ground at speed, there is a sombreness, a loneliness, an isolation that seems to prevail throughout the day.

I asked three of my favourite up-and-coming photographers, Jon Baines, Wei Yuet Wong and Marshall Kappel, to send me a selection of their photographs from the race for this feature. Without giving them much more of a steer than that, they all came back with images that captured that melancholy and loneliness, even in the crowd shots. For me, this selection sums up the sober beauty of this race.

Waiting

Arenberg

Roadside

The end

Follow Wei Yuet Wong on Twitter; visit his Flickr site; see our features on his work here and here

Follow Marshall Kappel on Twitter; visit his website; see our feature on his work here

Follow Jon Baines on Twitter; visit his website: see our feature on his work here

Header image: Marshall Kappel