Paris-Roubaix: Cancellara conquers classic

VeloNews.com | Paris-Roubaix: Fabian the giant killer

Cancellara gives CSC a P-R
AP/Michel Spingler

CSC's Fabian Cancellara took his biggest win since the 2004 Tour prologue, escaping with classics specialist Peter Van Petegem and losing him on the Carrefour de l'Arbre.

Cancellara was aided by a train, whose inopportune timing led to Petegem and Discovery Channel's Leif Hoste and Vladimir Gusev being disqualified for going around the crossing barricades. Boonen and the rest of the field were held up for 15 seconds or so, and after that, with 10 kilometers to ride, Cancellara was home free. The judges' decision has unleashed a firestorm, since Boonen's group also went around the barricades, but after rather than before the train came through. CyclingNews.com offers UCI President Pat McQuaid's take on the ruling, and notes that Petegem's Davitamon-Lotto team has lodged a formal protest (in 3 languages).

Cancellara's DS, Bjarne Riis, on the win:

“This is perhaps the biggest result in the history of the team; it is most 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.”

Hincapie fractures shoulder
cyclingnews/Fotoreporter Sirotti

Discovery Channel's George Hincapie, who has long named a Paris-Roubaix victory as one of his goals, crashed out with a broken steerer tube. Hincapie was riding a custom Trek, featuring an elastomer suspension and other features to minimize the vibration and pounding of the most rugged of the classics. Hincapie went down hard on his right shoulder, and reports on Monday say Hincapie will have surgery and miss 15 days of racing. Hincapie's prototype featured an aluminum steerer bonded to an OCLV fork, which Trek will reportedly be examining closely. That puts him out of next week's Tour de Georgia. ThePaceline.com has photos of Hincapie with wife and daughter in his cast and sling at the Atlanta Airport Monday.

Over at DailyPeloton.com, Vaughn Trevi, summed up Hincapie's day:

Hincapie undoubtedly in the best form of his career in an opportune situation with two of his team in the break was given the worst decision of the fates on this Sunday in Hell.

Tom Boonen, the prohibitive favorite to repeat last year's victory, was isolated from the Quick.Step team that has controlled the spring classics calendar. CSC, Team Discovery, and some opportunists kept the pace at full hammer all day. The disqualifications left Boonen in 2nd, and meant he'll wear the hybrid World Champion/ProTour leader's jersey for a while longer.

Also:

Eurosport.com | “I was the strongest”

cyclingnews.com | 104th Paris-Roubaix: The mean machine takes first Roubaix win for CSC

Photos:

GrahamWatson.com | Paris-Roubaix

cyclingnews.com | 104th Paris-Roubaix photo gallery