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Van Avermaet’s dream season continues with Paris-Roubaix triumph

Four-time champion Boonen prominent in the final race of his career

April 9, 2017
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Greg Van Avermaet (Belgium/BMC) won his first Paris-Roubaix on Sunday, beating four others in a sprint in the famous Roubaix velodrome. It was the Olympic champion’s fourth win of the spring having also taken the Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, E3 Harelbeke, Gent-Wevelgem titles and placing runner-up in Strade Bianche and the Tour of Flanders. The 2017 Paris-Roubaix is also the Belgian’s first Monument triumph. He leads Peter Sagan in the WorldTour by over 1000-points.

It was Tom Boonen’s final ride as a professional. The four-time winner was very dynamic in the cobbles and placed 13th.

The riders had 257-km to ride, including 29 sectors of cobbles for a total of 55-km. Organizers count down the sectors from 29. The three five-star, or, starting this season “black” sectors are sector 19 Trouée d’Arenberg at 96-km to go, sector 11 Mons-en-Pévèle with 48.5-km remaining and sector 4 Carrefour de l’Arbre in the last 19-km.


The start of the race had been pushed back because of an anticipated tailwind. It was this tailwind that made for such a fast beginning to the race—50.9-kmh over the first hour. No breakaway was able to keep away for long.

Perhaps the speed of the peloton was a little high going into the second sector of cobbles because there was a big crash that split the field.
https://twitter.com/CyclingHubTV/status/851036388707487744
A little later 2014 winner Niki Terpstra (The Netherlands/Quick Step) crashed and had to abandon.


In sector 20 with The Trench of Arenberg looming, Van Avermaet crashed and had to chase over to the main and now streamlined group. Trek’s forcing after the Arenberg split the bunch, and with 78-remaining, Peter Sagan attacked. Four-kilometres later it was Sagan, his teammate Maciej Bodnar (Poland), Trek’s Jasper Stuyven and BMC’s Daniel Oss leading a 23-rider group containing Boonen, Van Avermaet, and John Degenkolb by 25-seconds.


Sagan punctured before sector 15 and with Bodnar stopping with him, Oss and Stuyven carried on in the lead. Riders like Arnaud Démare (France/FDJ) and Dylan van Baarle (Cannondale) tried to bridge over to the leading duo but were hunted down. Oss and Stuyven led the chase by 40-seconds heading into Mons-en-Pévèle.

Antoine Duchesne also wrecked on Sunday and climbed off the bike, job done keeping Sylvain Chavanel safe.

Sagan tried to steal away on Mons-en-Pévèle, but Quick-Step’s Czech Zdenek Stybar grabbed his wheel and the move only proved to force a selection. Curiously, three riders including workhorse Jurgen Roelandts (Belgium/Lotto-Soudal) shook loose of the chase and hooked up with Oss and Stuyven.


Boonen provided more coal for the chase engine and the five-man break came back with 40-km and 9-sectors to go. Now a 15-rider squad led the race. Van Avermaet, Sagan, Chavanel, Degenkolb, Stybar were all accounted for. BMC, Trek, Cannondale and Quick Step were all represented by two riders.

Oss bolted again. Jens Keukeleire (Belgium/Orica-Scott), runner-up in Gent-Wevelgem, punctured. Oss quickly pulled out a 23-second gap. Soon after Sagan followed a surge from Stybar he had a mechanical. It was slow service. The main chase was down to six riders: Stybar, Van Avermaet, Cannondale’s Dutchman Sebastian Langeveld, Stuyven, Roelandts and Sky’s Gianni Moscon (Italy).

The Sagan/Boonen group was third on the road and it swelled as Oss headed for sector 7. This 3-star section really ate into Oss’s gap. On the pavement, with 24.5-km remaining, Oss made the group a septet. Its gap to the Boonen/Sagan chase was 34-seconds. The chase didn’t look particularly organized.


Just before the 5-star Carrefour de l’Arbre came 4-star Camphin-en-Pévèle. There Langeveld scampered away and Oss dropped back. Stybar grabbed Langeveld. In the Carrefour Van Avermaet attacked. Roelandts cracked. Van Avermaet, Stybar and Langeveld distanced the others. From the chase Boonen, Oliver Naesen (France/AG2R) and Degenkolb tried to bridge.

Stybar began to sit on the leading trio. With 10-km to go, the gap was 50-seconds. Surely there would be a new winner of the Hell of the North.

Through the penultimate sector of cobbles, Stybar tightened his shoes, took a drink and attacked with 4-km to go. Van Avermaet countered him and led into the velodrome. Stybar went high on the track. It was cat-and-mouse as Stuyven and Moscon latched on. Moscon led out the sprint, Stybar came around him but Van Avermaet whipped around the right hand side for the famous victory.


Langeveld was third.

Hugo Houle finished his third Paris-Roubaix in 63rd place, his best-ever Monument result.

It was the fastest Paris-Roubaix of all time at 45.204-kmh.

2017 Paris-Roubaix
1) Greg van Avermaet (Belgium/BMC) 5:41:07
2) Zdenek Stybar (Czech Republic/Quick Step) s.t.
3) Sebastian Langeveld (The Netherlands/Cannondale) s.t.
63) Hugo Houle (Canada/AG2R) +9:41