Cancellara Destroys Opposition To Clinch Second Paris-Roubaix

Paris-Roubaix. If that means nothing to you, then you are obviously not a fan of professional cycling. One of cycling’s oldest races, first run in 1896, is a one day race in the North of France, known affectionately as the Hell of the North.

One of the defining characteristics of the race is the route takes in 28 sectors of good, old-fashioned cobblestones. These are roads that were, in some instances, built in the time of Napoleon and, while they may have been suitable for horse and cart, they are thoroughly unsuitable for traditional road racing bicycles.

Some sections of cobblestones, the dreaded five-star sectors such as the two and a half kilometre Trouée d’Arenberg, are so brutal as to seriously test the quality of the riders dental work and reduce the contents of their underpants to something approximating the consistency of lumpy oatmeal.

Even the roads to and from the cobbled areas are tough, in some cases as bad as some of the cobbled sectors. It is fiercely unforgiving of man and machine. Punctures, bike failures and crashes abound—and that’s when it’s dry. In the wet it’s really difficult.

It’s not even safe for the spectators. In 2009, 16 spectators were injured, 3 of them seriously, when an official motorbike ploughed into them.

It’s a funny race. Rarely will the Tour de France general classification contenders take part. It’s not the sort of race that they would be likely to win and the risks are too great. Consequently names like Armstrong, Evans, the Schleck brothers, and Contador are nowhere to be seen.

Not that the guys who take part are duds—far from it. The names who feature most prominently are cycling royalty—Fabian Cancellara, Tom Boonen, George Hincapie, Thor Hushovd, Stuart O’Grady, Robbie McEwen and Juan-Antonio Flecha. It is tailor made for time trial/sprint type racers.

The attrition rate in this race is tremendous. The lead bunch is slowly whittled down from 200 starters, to 100, then to 50 and 20 and 10 and the cream, as they say, invariably rises to the top.

The 2010 Paris-Roubaix was won with 50 kilometres to go. It was widely believed that this race would come down to a shootout between Belgian champion and three-time winner of the race, Tom Boonen and Swiss champion, Fabian Cancellara, himself a previous winner of the Paris Roubaix.

Cancellara caught Boonen napping and having a sustenance break, bolted off the front and wasn’t seen again until they all arrived in the velodrome in Roubaix. No one could match the pace of Cancellara once he had decided to make the run for the finish.

In doing so, Cancellara had embarrassed Boonen for the second time in a week after comprehensively outstripping him to win the Tour of Flanders. Boonen’s race collapsed after Cancellara’s move, 30 seconds of inattention cost him any chance at equalling countryman Roger De Vlaeminck’s four wins.

But the day belonged to Saxo Bank’s Cancellara.

He had time to play up to the TV cameras and show the angel he carried in his jersey pocket. It was a dominant performance and he left everyone in his wake. To do that only seven days after his Tour of Flanders win is an almost superhuman effort.

The final two podium spots were taken by Hushovd and Flecha after an agonizingly slow sprint, two minutes after Cancellara had finished. Boonen struggled home in fifth place after failing to outsprint Roger Hammond.

The final, cruel twist to this race is that after rattling over nearly 100 kilometres of cobblestones, the trophy is made from the rocky surface. Must be a nightmare for excess baggage.