Cancellara Wins Paris-Roubaix
Fabian Cancellara (CSC) has won Paris-Roubaix.
Boonen accelerated, and Cancellara, Ballan, and Van Petegem followed. For a time, Flecha, Hoste, Gusev, and Eisel were dropped, but the four got back on. With
With
Cancellara dropped Gusev. Hoste, Van Petegem, and Gusev joined, with Boonen, Flecha, and Ballan pursuing 0:10 behind the first chase group. With
When Hoste, Van Petegem, and Gusev reached the crossing, the barriers had come down. The three slipped across them and continued to pursue Cancellara. Even without the obstruction, however, the Swiss would not have been caught. He led the trio by more than a minute at the finish.
Ten minutes after the race, the commissaries disqualified Hoste, Van Petegem, and Gusev for crossing the tracks while the barriers were lowered. Boonen, Flecha, and Ballan crossed while the barriers were lowered also, but they waited for the train, which had already reached the crossing, to pass. Boonen moved up to second at 1:49, and Ballan got third with the same time.
Naturally, Cancellara?s victory elated him. ?It?s a totally indescribable feeling,? he said. ?I find it hard to put into words, but it?s definitely the greatest moment in my entire career. The whole team has a big stake in this victory because we?ve worked hard for a long time with this in mind.?
Bjarne Riis was unusually effusive about the win. ?This is perhaps the biggest result in the history of the team. It is definitely one of them, but of course it?s hard to compare the different races. In my eyes, Paris-Roubaix is the most spectacular one-day race of them all, and the way Fabian won it shows his great, great class.?
Next Sunday, many of these riders will do battle in the Amstel Gold Race. Who will prevail? Check in at Roadcycling.com and find out!
