Paris - Roubaix, one of the biggest classic in the season, a true monument, welcomes the riders with excellent weather. It's 18 degrees Celsius, sunny and no wind to speak about. In other words, the conditions are excellent, and this should be all about the riders. The favourites for the race, according to the bookmakers, are: Tom Boonen Marcus Burghardt Fabian Cancellara
But all the best cobblers in the Pro Tour are here, Sam Bewley Geert Steurs Alessandro Ballan
are only 3 of the riders Boonen, Burghardt and Cancellara will need to watch out for.
The race is 258 kilometers long, and it doesn't take long before we get the first attack. Blaise Sonnery is the man, immediately drawing our attention on the CT team, they look determined to prove they rightfully got a spot in the Queen of the Classics. No one is interested in following him, but he isn't allowed much of a gap.
The peloton doesn't look too happy with letting Sonnery go, so they keep him on close distance. Sergent Zaini J. Sagan Appollonio Duran
try to take advantage of this, attacking themselves up to Sonnery. None of them are great cobblers, meaning the peloton will probably be happy to let them go.
Semble is a bit late on the trigger, meaning he is chasing the 6 men up front solo.
But the peloton continues to keep the pace high, and Semble gets caught. His team mate, Bookwalter
attacks immediately, and he is followed by 5 others. They are: Weiss Betancourt Burke Ratto Rodriguez Parra
Suddenly, Wiggle - San Pellegrino have 3 riders in the breakaway, none of them are great cobblers, but this looks like an interesting team tactic. They've clearly been doing some thinking this morning!
But 12 riders, where 3 of them are Wiggle's, is too much for Carmeuse - Boygues Telecom and Bacardi - Ignis. A determined chase sees the breakaway caught with 225 kilometers to go. It has been a very fast start to the race, it will be interesting to see what influence that might make on the last part of the race.
It only takes 5 kilometers before some of the early attackers tries their luck again. Burke is the initiator, he's followed by Duran Weiss Appollonio Rodriguez Parra
The breakaway looks like it realy counts for something today, they're all trying all they can.
Bookwalter isn't giving up that easy neither, and just when it looks like 5 up front are going to establish themselves with a decent gap, he starts another attack. He's followed by Sergent J. Sagan Impey Malori Renäng
Impey, Malori and Renäng are "new," Sergent and Sagan have, just like Bookwalter, tried their luck earlier.
But this is clearly not the day for a breakaway. Carmeuse - Boygues Telecom and Bacardi - Ignis continues with their strong pace, chasing them back. They obviously have strong faith in their captains, Cancellara and Burghardt. Is this the day where Boonen gets beaten?
With 175 kilometers left, 83 kilometers have been raced, a breakaway is finally allowed to form. Duran Rodriguez Parra Bookwalter Renäng Burke Weiss Sergent Sagan Impey Appollonio Malori Signorini & Sinelobov
are the lucky 13. They can only hope Carmeuse - Boygues Telecom and Bacardi - Ignis can calm down back in the peloton.
And with 157 kilometers to go, the fun begins! Burke gets the honour of being the first rider to take on the cobbles today. It's obviously not the last section of cobbles the riders have to face.
Back in the peloton, Bacardi - Ignis takes charge, and national champion Kondrotas leads. Also, the distance to the breakaway is surprisingly low, in fact, their lead is only 1'30 hitting cobbles for the first time.
And it only takes 1 cobbled section before the breakaway is caught. Looks like the peloton are really determined to let the big favourites fight it out for the win today. Bacardi - Ignis keeps the pace high, you can see how stretched the peloton is on the third cobbled section. You can't afford to be at the back here, and all favourites seem to be aware of that, all of them are well placed in the front of the peloton. But this race is wide open, no one is out in front, who is going to take advantage of that?
Bacardi - Ignis pacing forces many riders to let the peloton go. With 140 kilometers left, the peloton is down to 88 riders, and we finally see another attack. Kruijswijk is the brave man, trying his luck far, far away from the Velodrome. No one follows him, and he's on his own.
And finally, it seems like the race has settled. The biggest favourites doesn't worry too much about Kruijswijk, and he's allowed to ride away. But that doesn't mean that they're not pacing behind him. Carmeuse - Boygues Telecom and Milka - Vittel have started to help Bacardi - Ignis, and with 130 kilometers left of racing, the peloton is down to 53 men. All the big favourites are there, none of them have crashed or punctured so far.
The peloton has really slowed down now. We've got 100 kilometers left. Kruijswijk is solo up front, 5'40 behind him follows a big group led by Bacardi - Ignis and Carmeuse - Boygues Telecom, where all the favourites are.
Kruijswijk is giving this his best, and his gap continues to grow. With 75 kilometers to go, his lead is 6'30. But the peloton finally decides that they can't give him more rope now, and they are starting to pull him back, slowly but surely.
But Kruijswijk is putting up a real fight here! Boonen is forced to send his strongest helper, Sibilla, to the front with 55 kilometers to go, as Bacardi and Carmeuse clearly weren't strong enough to bring Kruijswijk back. 55 kilometers to go, his lead is 5'40. Can this strong Dutchman hold on to the Velodrome?
It looks like Sibilla is having a great day, only 5 kilometers later, the gap is down to 4'30, and the peloton has only 29 riders left. But they will need to continue this strong pace, as it looks like they've definitely underestimated Kruijswijk's strenght. The most notable rider missing from this selective group of 29 riders, is Flecha.
5 more kilometers raced, and Sibilla is clearly doing serious damage. The favourite group is down to 29 riders. Burghardt (3rd from the front) Cancellara Bewley Steurs
looks like they're very alert now, only waiting for the right moment to attack. No other big favourite is this close to the front. But that's quite understandable, as Sibilla is really hammering.
Geert Steurs starts the fireworks! We have 41 kilometers left, and no one follows his attack.
Cancellara immediately sees the danger in Steurs' attack, and he hits the front, looking to chase him back. Though, that's easier said than done, Steurs is really going for it, sensing a long distance attack is his only chance at victory.
Only 36 kilometers to go, and it seems like Steurs is running out of gas. Summerhill senses this, and attacks when he has Steurs in his eyesight. It's now or never for the young American. Just like Steurs' move, no one follows Summerhill.
But Cancellara continues his strong chase, and brings back Summerhill. One could start to ask how much Boonen has paid him for being a super domestique. He's certainly not helping himself here, chasing down all attackers, not attacking himself.
With 28 kilometers to go, the favourite group contains 16 riders. They are: Fenn Lhotellerie & Cancellara Summerhill Burghardt & Steegmans Ballan Boonen & Sibilla Bewley Steurs Gusev Baugnies Franzoi & De Vocht Thomas
And while we are counting riders, Fenn attacks! Wiggle - San Pellegrino is really riding offensive here. At the start of the day, they covered every move there was, and now Fenn is trying to get rid of Boonen, Cancellara, Burghardt and all the other big names.
Summerhill follows, he clearly wasn't dead after his last attack. They can see Kruijswijk up front now, the brave ride from the Dutchman is coming to an end.
But they are immediately brought back. And only a few hundred meters later, today's bravest man, Kruijswijk, is caught.
20 kilometers to go, only 20 000 meters to win the race on. Gusev realizes he won't win a sprint with Boonen and Bewley as opponents, and attacks. He is followed by Ballan Steurs Baugnies.
But an incredibly strong Sibilla shows no mercy, he's really working hard for Boonen, and he catches them only 3 kilometers later.
14 kilometers to go, and the group of favourites is down to 12. Bewley Burghardt Cancellara Gusev Ballan Steurs Boonen & Sibilla Baugnies Summerhill Fenn Franzoi
must all feel they have a great chance to win this monument. But most of them will need to make the decisive move before the Velodrome, as Boonen and Bewley are two of the world's best sprinters.
And here we go! Burghardt launches a strong attack. Cancellara is immediately on his rear wheel, while Ballan, Steurs and Boonen tries to follow. Is this a sign of weakness from Boonen? Burghardt has really put the hammer down, and it seems like Cancellara is the only one able to follow.
Finally, Burghardt has to sit down, but Cancellara continues his attack. This is definitely serious, with Boonen nowhere to be seen, Cancellara is flying to the Velodrome. But Burghardt hasn't given up, he actually manages to follow Cancellara's attack, and the 2 of them holds a small gap.
But Boonen hasn't given up. He's leaving Ballan and Steurs in the dust, trying to claw back the gap of 26 seconds, that Burghardt and Cancellara have.
300 meters later, and you can all see what the situation is like. Cancellara holds a small gap to Burghardt, who holds a small gap to Boonen. Behind Boonen follows Steurs and Ballan, before what’s left of the group comes. This is definitely not a battle between Burghardt and Cancellara, not yet. Everyone is simply giving everything, chasing the podium on the Velodrome.
And indeed, Bewley chases them all back! The young Kiwi is really proving himself as a top cobbler here. Who is going to put in the next attack?
No one is going to put in another attack, everyone is too tired, or preparing themselves to the sprint. And the group of 11 hits the Velodrome together, the tension is electric, this is what the crowd has been waiting the whole day for! Hitting the Velodrome, they are positioned like this (from front to back): Cancellara Ballan Boonen Bewley Gusev Baugnies Fenn Burghardt Summerhill Franzoi
Cancellara looks doomed, forced to lead them out on the Velodrome, can he surprise everyone from the front?
And while they are doing their last preparations for the sprint, the crowd is going absolutely crazy! Cancellara still leads, Bewley is still locked up on Boonen's wheel. Will "the new Boonen" get the better of the original? He certainly has the position to beat Boonen today, question is how much power he got left.
The bell rings, 1 lap to go, and the sprint is about to start. Cancellara looks like he doesn't know what to do from the front, I'll bet he would have wanted to change position with anyone behind him. On the other hand, no one dare to kick early, meaning Cancellara could pull a great trick here. Anyway, Boonen and Bewley should be the favourites for the very last lap on the Velodrome.
The sprint starts, and it's soon realized why no one tried to attack on the final kilometers. Gusev immediately has to let Bewley go, and it looks like the fight for victory will be between the 4 in front of him; Cancellara, Ballan, Boonen and Bewley.
And here comes Boonen! Making his move with 1000 meters to go, sensing Burghardt is coming with unexpected speed on his right. It seems like Bewley struggles to keep up with Boonen's strong acceleration. Ballan is trying to squeeze himself past Cancellara on the inside.
And Boonen has clearly saved a lot for the sprint, he's gapping everyone else. He's storming to a magnificent triple, winning G - W and RvV, crowning it with a win here, on the most famous Velodrome in cycling.
Finally, Bewley makes his move, but it's far too late. He couldn't keep up with Boonen when he exploded. Burghardt is still keeping an amazing speed, he started the sprint way behind, one could ask whether he could challenge Boonen from a better position.
And this is it, Boonen wins Paris - Roubaix 2012! Bewley follows in 2nd, but Boonen was never really challenged in the final sprint.
Burhardt takes 3rd, his sprint was great, but that doesn't help much when his positioning before the sprint was terrible. Cancellara takes 4th, a few inches in front of Ballan.
Just behind the front 5, Steurs sprints well, and takes 6th. A good race for him, he showed aggressive racing in the final 40 kilometers, luckily for him, he had saved enough power for a good sprint. Behind him, Baugnies followed in 7th. Summerhill, Fenn and Gusev couldn't challenge the fastest, but they look happy for their top 10 placings.
Franzoi follows in 11th, 47 seconds behind race winner Boonen. He was in the front group when the sprint started, but he must have been absolutely exhausted, and didn't manage to sprint.
But this was another great day in Boonen's career. He can celebrate his victory on the podium, together with the lovely podium girls.
