Cancellara storms to Paris-Roubaix win

Eurosport - Sun, 11 Apr 16:29:00 2010

Switzerland's Fabian Cancellara stormed to victory in Paris-Roubaix to become just the 10th man in history to win both of the cobbled classics in the same year.

CYCLING 2010 Paris-Roubaix Fabian Cancellara - 0

The 29-year-old followed up his victory in last Sunday's Tour of Flanders with an emphatic winning margin of two minutes over Norwegian Thor Hushovd (Cervelo) who beat Spain's Juan Antonio Flecha of Team Sky in the sprint for second place in the Roubaix velodrome.

The Olympic and world time trial champion attacked on the flat roads on the approach to the 18th of the 27 cobbled sections, Mons-en-Pévèle.

The Saxo Bank rider bridged the gap to the leading trio of Sébastien Hinault, Leif Hoste and Björn Leukemans before dropping them in quick succession and time trialing the 45km to the finish.

As he did seven days before, Cancellara waved a tiny gold angel to the television cameras as he claimed a famous victory in the 108th edition of Paris-Roubaix, four years after his first success in one of the 'Monuments' of the cycling calendar.

"I launched an attack in a quiet moment of the race where the riders in the group were trying to recover from earlier attacks. When I noticed that no one was able to follow, I kept my head down and the legs going to the finish line," Cancellara said.

"I know it's a historic victory as I took 'the double' which only very few riders have done before me and this title has been my biggest motivation throughout the week."

Two-time defending champion Tom Boonen led an eight-man chase group but they never looked like getting on terms with the Swiss who secured the fourth major Classic win of his career.

Belgian national champion Boonen, one minute 15 seconds behind Cancellara when finishing second in Flanders, had to settle for fifth after being outsprinted by Britain's Roger Hammond.

A 19-man escape group, featuring Britain's Jeremy Hunt, formed around two hours into the 259km trek from Compiègne and they opened up a four-minute lead.

The main group was gradually whittled down as they crossed the 52km of pave on this year's route although dry conditions meant the pivotal Arenberg forest section of cobbles failed to produce the decisive selection that it often has in previous years in the race known as the 'Hell of the North'.

The final escapees were caught with 60km remaining before Cancellara produced a scintillating solo performance, opening up a lead of over three minutes at one point, as he followed his fellow Swiss Henri Suter to become just the second non-Belgian to complete the double.

Tour of Turkey: Monday-Friday 1pm LIVE on British Eurosport (Sky 410 / Virgin 521) & Eurosport Player

Lee Walker / Eurosport

Comment 5 - 24 of 24

Sort comments by: Most recent | Most rated

  1. Doped? Maybe, maybe not. In his own words "You­ can't win races with passion alone."

    But the­ guys behind him are equally likely to be doped­ too.

    Still the most dominant P - R win in years­ whether you want to sink to that level or not. Shame­ they gave up and started riding for second just 300­ yards after the attack though.

    From Thomas, on Wed 14 Apr 5:15

  2. GAVIN.GILBERT

    Dude, why must EVERYTHING be turned into­ a Lance Armstrong comment? Jeez, you haters really­ have severe mental problems.

    Anyway, Cancellara is­ a beast and really has developed into a fantastic­ rider. He used to be a TdF prologue guy, now he's­ winning some of the toughest races in the world! ­ Awesome job Fabian!

    I wonder who's more popular­ in Switzerland, Fabian or Fed???

    From Allan, on Tue 13 Apr 7:45

  3. Great ride, great victory

    From Bobcha, on Tue 13 Apr 6:32

  4. Awesome ride but this kind of dominant riding usually­ has some form chemically assistance. I hope not because­ he's seems a top man.

    From Stephen, on Tue 13 Apr 5:49

  5. It would be sweet if he could take all the monuments in­ one year...

    From Worldwide, on Tue 13 Apr 2:30

  6. Pure strenght, power and self-esteem is what Cancellara­ shows yesterday and no one could match that. Brilliant­ performance, congratulations

    From wienerau69, on Mon 12 Apr 21:09

  7. Maybe Boonen needs to learn how to TT like Cancellara?­ A 'dont argue' ride from him if ever there was­ one. Unbeatable.

    From Justin, on Mon 12 Apr 14:09

  8. On his way to become the most complete rider of our­ generation. All we need now is just a bit more climbing­ and nothing could stop him

    From Azriel, on Mon 12 Apr 12:39

  9. Great win and very impressive 2nd place by Thor. Great­ 2 weeks of cycling

    From markear1, on Mon 12 Apr 12:20

  10. One of the most impressive attacks I have ever seen -­ to gain so much time so quickly was tremendous.

    Boonen­ was wasting energy early on - great to see Roger­ Hammond beat him in a sprint!

    From Bikefan, on Mon 12 Apr 11:43
  11. Comment hidden due to its low rating. Show

    Butt kissers...how do you know he is so clean ...last­ time he worked with Bjarne Riis and part of CSC­ team...that is not to be proud of....you make him the­ greatest of the greats..you're pathetic...

    From seby_pricop, on Mon 12 Apr 11:11

  12. Congratulations on a great ride and a great Double. Not­ sure about the comments about being the greatest­ cyclist in the World, one of the best yes. Cancellar is­ still a work in progress, transforming himself into a­ true all-rounder. And for those naysayers out there,­ check out his 2009 successes, primarily individual time­ trials and prologues. His early season form is­ fueling our expectations for a truly stellar 2010. But­ let's not forget that cycling is a sport that­ heavily relies on the rider being in top form at the­ right time. Early success in such challenging races may­ not translate into continued success, A concern voiced­ by Fabian himself with regards to the Milan-San Remo.­ Stay strong, stay healthy and stay fast your efforts­ are greatly appreciated by cycling fans around the­ World.

    From Chris, on Mon 12 Apr 10:34

  13. Nice one Roger. A scalp worth taking.

    From keir_williams, on Mon 12 Apr 10:10

  14. A fantanstic race and Fab is simply a star and a great­ great athlete. Great to watch. Also a great ride by­ Juan Antonio Flecha for Sky and another fab­ Paris-Roubaix performance by Roger Hammond and it was­ also great to see Jez Hunt well in among the action­ earlier on. Well done guys. Cycle racing as it should­ be.

    From Jeremy, on Mon 12 Apr 9:46

  15. Chapeau Cancellara!

    From Tomas, on Mon 12 Apr 9:43

  16. That's 2 amazing rides in a row by an amazing rider­ - awesome stuff !!
    Not sure why it's necessary to­ try and compare him with Contador or anyone else ....­ bit pointless, but have fun.

    From Ffogil (Zimbabwe), on Mon 12 Apr 9:01

  17. Please..... don't tell me this is a misuse of the­ word awesome!

    From Terry, on Mon 12 Apr 8:58

  18. A great rider, a truly great rider, performs throughout­ the season, and always maintains a clear love and­ enthusiasm for the sport, regardless of terrain,­ weather, race or anything else.

    A great champion­ does all this, and wins spectacularly too!

    This is why­ Fab is the greatest rider in the World, he doesn't­ just succeed on a couple of showcase days in July, he­ does it consistently throughout the year. And - of­ course - he isn't powered by pharmaceuticals! Go­ Fab, don't think we've seen the best of you­ yet!

    From James, on Mon 12 Apr 8:06

  19. Cacellara is great

    From Marinus, on Mon 12 Apr 8:04
  20. Comment hidden due to its low rating. Show

    Stop making Cancellara the cleaneast and better rider­ in the world .

    For me the winner is Thor Hushovd.

    From seby_pricop, on Mon 12 Apr 7:24
Sort comments by: Most recent | Most rated

Not already a Yahoo! user ? to get a free Yahoo! Account