Cancellara wins third Paris-Roubaix
Pips Vanmarcke in a track sprint
Swiss rider Fabian Cancellara (RadioShack-Leopard) continues to be the story of the season so far, as he outsprinted Sep Vanmarcke (Belgium/Blanco) in the famed Roubaix velodrome to win his third Paris-Roubaix, adding the victory to his 2013 E3 Harelbeke and Tour of Flanders titles.
The day’s early breakaway was hauled in before the first section of cobbles at the 98 kilometre mark, with RadioShack-Leopard forced the early pace. There was no decisive move in the infamous Trouée d’Arenberg section, only a further winnowing of the field. Conditions were dry, encouraging riders to pedal in the smoother gutters where they were perilously close to the fans.
In the final 40 kilometres, two Belgians, Stijn Vandenbergh (Omega Pharma-Quickstep) and Vanmarcke, slipped away, eventually drawing Cancellara and Vandenbergh’s Czech teammate Zdenek Stybar with them before the Carrefore de l’Arbre section. Vandenbergh hit a fan and crashed, and Stybar was clipped in the face with a camera, knocking him off his pace and dooming his chances.
With a skilled group containing Juan Antonio Flecha (Spain/Vacansoleil) and Niki Terpstra (The Netherlands/Omega Pharma) over a minute behind, Cancellara and Vanmarcke beat on alone, with the Belgian winner of the 2012 Omloop Het Nieuwsblad waiting for Cancellara’s inevitable attack. It came after Vanmarcke flicked his elbow asking Spartacus to come through to work, but Blanco’s man clung desperately to the Swiss wheel.
The two started track games before they even enter the velodrome, and the cat-and-mouse continued in the banked oval. Finally, Vanmarcke led out, diving inside, but Cancellara had too much left in the tank and took victory as the track grew increasingly crowded. Terpstra took third, improving on last year’s fifth place.
With the Cobbled Classics over, the cycling world turns its attention to the Ardennes Classics, which is in Ryder Hesjedal’s wheelhouse. A busy week of Amstel Gold, Fleche Wallonne and Liege-Bastogne-Liege starts next Sunday in Limburg, the Netherlands.
