A cool autumn morning in Paris. The city feels half-asleep but the Montmartre Vélo Club is already rolling, tracing its way out of the grands boulevards and into the still air beyond. Direction north, to a private battleground 30 kilometres out of town: a 3.3-kilometre Strava segment that has become iconic in the club. Usually it’s tackled on the way home from longer rides, favoured for its empty vistas and its lack of cars. Now, they’re riding out for a time-trial. A ride, a ritual, more than a hint of rivalry.

The plains stretch as far as you can see. Bare earth and the absence of crops add to the slight feeling of desolation. The concrete-slab farm roads are reminiscent of the spring Classic races that take place in French Flanders and Belgium not so far away. This is the Secteur Flandrien.

Edouard S. takes the day in 5m02s, but his previous 4m06s – almost 50km/h, with a tailwind – still reigns. Marion A. claims the women’s crown in 5m45s. The 5m20s record set by Véronique – la reine absente – is safe… for now.

After, the group turn south, riding home into a headwind. Back with Parisian cobbles under their tyres, they navigate to the Café du Cycliste store, lured by the smell of roast beans in the air. Coffee. Stories. Warmth. The kind of finish line that everyone wants.