“There’s only one objective for me and that’s to win it. It’s the one big thing missing from my career. I’d  still  keep going [and not retire if I win], but maybe I wouldn’t come back to Roubaix. I’d always want to end it on that note.”

“Paris-Roubaix is such an epic event. It and Flanders are definitely the hardest one-day races in the whole calendar. It’s always suited me, Paris-Roubaix has always been a really appealing event for me because of the whole history it has. You could easily fill several coffee table books of photos from just that one race because it’s so special.”

“On Sunday I think we’ll try to have one or two guys in the breakaways and then the rest of them with stay with me and Marcus [Burghardt]. We’ve got a strong team.”

“I’ve still got that endurance you need for these races, I can still do a good job and fight for a win in certain races. Like Paris-Roubaix.”

The Columbia-Highroad team went to ride over the critical cobbled sections of Paris-Roubaix on Thursday. Ghent-Wevelgem winner Edvald Boasson Hagen, who will ride Paris-Roubaix for the first time in his career on Sunday, formed part of the group.

“After winning Milan-San Remo and Ghent-Wevelgem, the pressure on us is a little bit lower,” commented team sports director Brian Holm. “But at the same time, we proved in Ghent-Wevelgem that we’ve got  a lot of different options and that the team is going really well, and on Sunday that will be important.”

Team Columbia-Highroad for Paris-Roubaix:- Michael Barry (Can); Edvald Boasson Hagen (Nor); Marcus Burghardt (Ger);  Bernhard Eisel (Aut); Greg Henderson (NZ); George Hincapie (USA); Vicente Reynes (Spa); Marcel Sieberg (Ger).