Tom Boonen silenced his critics when he won the 259.5km Paris-Roubaix for the second time.

The Belgian had first won the Queen of Classics in 2005, a golden year in which he also grabbed the Tour of Flanders and a world champion title.

He had failed, however, to add a significant victory to his brilliant record and had his class questioned for the last year.

This Roubaix repeat sets the record straight, the more so as Boonen beat the other two leading one-day classic specialists, Swiss Fabian Cancellara and Italy's Alessandro Ballan.

The three staged the ideal finale when they broke clear 35km from the finish line after the 28 cobbled sections on the day's menu had broken their opponents' hopes or their bikes.

Cancellara, the 2006 winner, launched the decisive move, followed by Ballan, but the two never managed to drop Boonen, on paper the best of the three in the event of a final sprint.

The Belgian lived up to his reputation on the Roubaix track, surging away over the final 200 metres to leave his opponents for dead.

Cancellara, winner of Milan-San Remo and Tirreno-Adriatico this season, had to be content with second place while Ballan, who took the Flanders crown away from Boonen last year, was third, equalling his result two years ago.

"After such a long race and at that pace, you know anything can happen in a sprint, but when we reached the velodrome, I surged and it turned out I was the freshest. I didn't look back but I think the gap was big," Boonen said.

"I never lost confidence but when you win just a few less races, people say `he's not as strong as he used to be'. I've already won six races this season and tell me how many other riders have done so?", added Boonen, winner of the Tour of Qatar and a couple of stages in the same race.

The only rider with a similar record in 2008 is Cancellara, known for his strong finishing.

But the Swiss quickly realised there would be no way to wrongfoot Boonen on an unexpectedly dry day on the roads of the French north.

"I really planned to attack and I tried a couple of times. But I quickly realised the three of us were as strong (as each other) and the battle would be decided on the track," he said.

"He won. He deserved to," he conceded.

Boonen's Quick Step team, in search of a sponsor for next season, had been included in the criticism surrounding the Belgian and the victory was another balm after last week's Tour of Flanders, won by Stijn Devolder.

Belgian champion Devolder turned into Boonen's best aide on the road to Roubaix.

"Stijn attacked twice and destroyed the opposition. He allowed me to make the right move at the right time," said Boonen.

"It was our week of truth and we ended up winning the two greatest races on the calendar," said team director Wilfried Peeters.

More classics are up for grabs before the end of the month: the Amstel Gold Race next weekend, followed by the Fleche Wallonne and Liege-Bastogne-Liege.

Reuters