Mathew Hayman (Orica-GreenEDGE) bounced back from a recent injury to claim a shocking victory in a hugely exciting and dramatic 114th edition of Paris-Roubaix. Having joined the early 16-rider break, the Australian hung onto the favourites when they arrived from behind and finally managed to beat Tom Boonen (Etixx-QuickStep), Ian Stannard (Sky), Sep Vanmarcke (LottoNL-Jumbo) and Edvald Boasson Hagen (Dimension Data) in a five-rider sprint on the famous velodrome in Roubaix. Fabian Cancellara (Trek) crashed in his final participation in the French classic while Peter Sagan (Tinkoff) missed out on the top 10 after having been caught behind a crash.

 

We have gathered several reactions.

 

Mathew Hayman: The doctors told me that my classics season was over

Veteran classics specialist Mathew Hayman has produced a masterful performance for ORICA-GreenEDGE today, sprinting to victory on the iconic velodrome of Paris-Roubaix, one of cycling’s five monuments.

 

The 37-year old returned for his 15th attempt at the ‘Hell of the North’, a race he has always declared unfinished business with, just five weeks after fracturing his right radius.

 

Spending the majority of the race in the front group Hayman used all of his experience to take the win ahead of four-time previous winner Tom Boonen (Etixx-Quickstep)

 

“I still can’t believe it,” said Hayman. “I’ve had enough bad luck in Paris-Roubaix in the last fifteen years. Everything went right today, I was in a good place mentally, I was relaxed and I was trying not to put pressure on myself.

 

“With one kilometre to go I was thinking that I would be happy just to be on the podium. I had a feeling that my legs were pretty good and I was happy to ride with Tom (Boonen) until the finish line but then it all came back together for the last lap.

 

“I’ve been riding some track recently after breaking my arm five weeks ago. My legs were feeling pretty good going into the finishing straight when I started my sprint, I could see Tom’s tyre underneath my arm but I managed to keep going.

 

“The only emotion I felt was disbelief. To win Paris-Roubaix is pretty surreal. But I think I’ve done my time, I’ve ridden Roubaix 15 times; I’ve sprinted on the track for a top ten. Sometimes you have to go for it and sometimes good things happen.

 

"If someone had told me this morning I’d win Paris-Roubaix, I wouldn’t have believed them, no way. Other years I’d dared to dream about it and in other years I felt good. This year was different. I haven’t really raced since breaking my arm in Omloop Het Nieuwsblad. The doctors were pretty convinced that my Classics were done but I really wanted to get back as quickly as possible.

 

“I spent a lot of time on the home trainer; I was in my own little world, riding in the garage twice a day. I knew I had to hold onto the months and months of training that I do for the Classics every year. This is my 17th year as a professional and it started in October. I spent a lot if time away, time at altitude, a lot of time away from the family, to be ready for the Classics. I didn’t want all that to be taken way by a crash. So if there was no chance that I could get back, then I’d do it.

 

“I did two races in Spain last week but before the race I was relaxed, I was carefree, to enjoy the race and see what came. I was here to ride for Jens Keukeleire if I had the chance. When I went in the break, it was the first time I’d moved all day, so I was full of energy. I knew I had to stay calm and control things, then the more I got towards the finish, the more surreal it became but I was just relaxed and having fun.

 

“This race is huge for me. If you speak to anyone at Orica-GreenEdge, they know this is the one race that is really special for me. It’s the one race I talk about from October and I’ve done it 15 times now, and I always finished it.

 

“It’s the one big races that throws up a surprise winner every once and again. It can be Stuart O’Grady or Johan Vansummeren. That keeps you holding onto that little bit of hope that one day it can be your turn. Today is my day and the sun is shining on me in the Roubaix velodrome.

 

“I hope you guys are happy with me winning and that Tom didn’t. I’m sorry about that. I’m sure that Tom’s going to have some sleepless nights about it but I’m sorry, but I won….”

 

“I was put in a gap [on Carrefour de l’Arbre] but I realised they weren’t going away from me and so I just rode my own pace. That compounded that these guys weren’t superior to me and that I could close the gap.

 

“Then in the finale those guys had to win. Boonen couldn’t get second, Sep Vanmarcke wanted to win. Sure, I wanted to win too, but I could gamble and it paid off.

 

“I’ve never been on the podium, so I would have been happy with second but when we came around the corner I was on Boonen’s wheel and then the other guys came back. Everyone was tired and gaps opening up, so I decided to hit out and go for it. When I saw 200 metres to go, I was worried. But if you have to go on the high side of the track, it’s a long way round.

 

“It's just pure disbelief. I can't believe it. This is my favourite year a race, the race I had always dreamed of. I did not even dare dream today. I was just riding and enjoying. I saved my legs and remained safe all day. I could tell in the finale that the other guys were also pretty tired. I just played the game and I was lucky.

”Paris-Roubaix is one of the only monuments in which a break has a chance to go all the way. I knew if I was in the break I needed to wait for the finale and for the strong guys to return. I thought it might be Fabian or Sagan. I was just saving, saving, saving and staying out of trouble. When they came back, they had to do a lot of work to catch us. I knew that because for me the hardest section was in Mons en Pevele and afterwards it was just waiting for the finale.

“It's going to take a while for this realisation to come. A lot of things went right for me in this Paris-Roubaix. I have had enough bad luck. I had to wait for 15 years to have my lucky day. Honestly, with one kilometre to go, I was just glad to be there.  The worst would have been to finish 4th or 5th. But I had a good feeling in my legs. I had good legs in the final stretch. I still can't believe it.

“I didn't expect it this morning. I came here before with great ambitions aiming at a podium and giving myself a lot of pressure. This time I was just coming here to enjoy a race I love a lot or to help someone if I could. Today everything just came into place. Perhaps it was better not to ride with that pressure on myself. The pressure that they had to win the race I didn't have. Boonen had to win, he could not come second. I was able to gamble and it paid off.

”Before Paris-Roubaix, every team director tells every rider that a break in Paris-Roubaix can lead to a good result. That's why it's so hard to get in the break. I was 8th here the year Van Summeren won also from a breakaway straight after the forest. Also every few years you have a special winner whether it was Stuart O'Grady or Johan Van Summeren for example. But if you look back they're always riders who did well here or rode in the front here. It's a race that gives you a chance to dream. I'm proof.

”It was pretty surreal to ride there on the velodrome with Tom. We came round the corner I was on his wheel. I still had a feeling that everyone was pretty tired. I decided to hit out and go for it. I was a little worried seeing the 200 metres sign as it s a long way on tired legs. Again I was in a pretty surreal state in the finale. I was strangely relaxed with everything I was doing.

 

“I have a contract for next year but it days like today what you do it for. This is a special day and I don’t want to do this till I hate it. For now I still love it, love racing and training with the team; I love winning with guys like Michael Matthews and Simon Gerrans, winning in Australia. I’m not sure if it will prolong my career. I just want to enjoy what I’m doing.”

 

Hayman raced with intelligence throughout the day, part of the early group of over twenty riders that formed the day’s breakaway alongside teammate Magnus Cort. Hayman positioned himself expertly as the attacks began to spring in the finale.

 

Using his experience and his power, the 2006 Commonwealth Games champion stayed clear of the four chasers to become only the second Australian to win the ‘Queen of the Classics’.

 

Sport director Laurenzo Lapage was over the moon with the result and the performance of Hayman, a tireless leader and worker for the ORICA-GreenEDGE team.

 

“What an amazing ride,” said Lapage. “If there is one guy that you want to win this race it would be Mathew (Hayman), he has been waiting for a long, long time to get the right opportunity and he put in an outstanding performance to get the win.

 

“The whole team rode very well throughout the race, we knew that if Mathew could stay up there at the front until the final then he had a good chance but we didn’t expect it to go so perfectly.

 

“We can enjoy this moment now, it’s a special victory in a special race. Everyone in this team works so hard it’s great when it pays off in a race like Paris-Roubaix”

 

“He did such an incredible race. He has been waiting so long for a great classics win and now he's Paris-Roubaix on his palmares. We knew he was good and believed in himself when he was in front with the leading group. When he arrived on the track with Tom, we were already happy then he picked up the victory. This was not expected. " .

 

Jens Keukeleire: I was never in the race

"I am really glad that Mathew did this,” Keukeleire told Het Nieuwsblad. “He's a great friend and a hard worker. This victory is quite a surprise for everyone, especially considering his elbow fracture in the Omloop Het Nieuwsblad. Personally I was never really in the race. I had a mechanical problem just before the feed zone at a very bad time. I had to wait long for my spare bike. I never saw the front.”

 

Tom Boonen: I don’t see why I shouldn’t try to win Paris-Roubaix again

October 9th 2015: Tom Boonen crashes in stage 2 of the Abu Dhabi Tour and suffers a skull fracture, his worst injury during a pro career which spans over a decade and a half. The doctors' prognostic is harsh: six month of break and a long recovery ahead, which automatically means that the Belgian has to miss his beloved Classics.

 

April 10th 2016: after 257 hard kilometers – out of which 52.8 were on the rough cobbles of Northern France – ridden at full gas, Tom Boonen is close of writing history and becoming the first five-time winner of Paris-Roubaix, a race which is almost unanimously considered as the toughest one there is in the cycling. Did something change in the meantime? Absolutely nothing! Then what made the difference between what the doctors said last Autumn and what happened on the road? The answer couldn't be easier: the DNA of a champion.

 

On Sunday, Tom Boonen was one of the 199 riders to line up in Compiègne's Place du Général-de-Gaullefor at the start of Paris-Roubaix, a race which will forever bear his mark thanks to the four victories that he scored in 2005, 2008, 2009 and 2012, as well as for the unique emotions and memorable moments he has generated in an event as special as the cobblestones that shape its outcome. Supported by a very strong outfit, which included also Tony Martin and Niki Terpstra, the 35-year-old showed his intentions right from the beginning, when the team rode hard, at first to send a man in the break, and then, once an escape was formed without an Etixx – Quick-Step rider, by controlling the group at the front and not giving it too much of a space.

 

Eventually, 16 riders broke away and got a 4-minute gap before the first cobbled sector of the day, Troisvilles. It was the start of a fascinating chess game, which unfolded like few editions of Paris-Roubaix have done in recent history, and Etixx – Quick-Step moved immediately, sending one of its strongest and most valuable pieces at the head of the peloton. Riding his maiden Paris-Roubaix, Tony Martin showed that sometimes it's not only the experience that counts, but also your skills and the strong legs that you have, as he began to chew into the breakaway's advantage.

 

Kilometer after kilometer, cobbled sector after cobbled sector, the three-time ITT World Champion brought pain into the legs of other riders, and played his part into what turned out to be one of the most important moments of the day: on Monchaux-sur-Ecaillon, a crash occurred and split the peloton, and Tony did a huge pull that splintered the groups even more, as he dropped a big number of riders who did their best in order to limit the loses, but couldn't match the German's fantastic pace. As a result, only a handful of men stayed in that group, among whom was also Tom Boonen, who led the way in the Arenberg Forest, the race's most iconic sector. Unfortunately, Etixx – Quick-Step lost Nikolas Maes there, due to a crash which required a couple of stitches on his right knee at the Valenciennes hospital.

 

Behind, Fabian Cancellara (Trek-Segrafredo), Alexander Kristoff (Katusha) and Peter Sagan (Tinkoff) tried to come back, but despite their combined efforts, the gap didn't drop below 30 seconds. With 82 kilometers remaining, what was left of the escape and Boonen's group merged, and their chances of going all the way increased considerably. The race witnessed another important moment later, on the five-star Mons-en-Pévèle sector, where Cancellara crashed, an incident that saw Niki Terpstra hit the deck and abandon. The Dutch champion was also taken to the hospital, where he was diagnosed with a left knee hematoma and on Monday is set to undergo further examinations. Another noteworthy event on Mons-en-Pévèle was the acceleration of Sep Vanmarcke (LottoNL-Jumbo), who forced a selection in the leader's group, narrowing it down to just seven riders.

 

The final 20 kilometers had plenty of excitement, drama, emotion, and especially attacks. Carrefour de l'Arbre, an old Roman road which in Paris-Roubaix has been the road to glory in more than one occasion, had Vanmarcke in the spotlight, as he attacked again and opened a 10-second gap. The first to respond to this move was Tom Boonen, who dug deep and made contact with his fellow countryman, the two of them being joined by Edvald Boasson Hagen (Dimension Data), Mathew Hayman (Orica-GreenEdge) and Ian Stannard (Team Sky). Knowing that his chances in a sprint were slim, the Brit then countered on a tarmac section and got five seconds in hand, but the same Boonen chased him down.

 

Then, inside the last 2500 meters, the Etixx – Quick-Step rider made his move after waiting patiently for the right moment, and only Hayman was capable to get in his wheel. It looked like the victory will see a two-man sprint, but the tension ramped up in the next few seconds, because Vanmarcke and Stannard managed to return at the front and spice up the finale. The Australian opened his sprint first, and although Boonen put in the big watts, he couldn't surpass him on the line and had to be satisfied with second place, which marked the 13th time that he has finished in the top 3 of a Monument.

 

"Trying to win my fifth Roubaix never turned out to be an easy task, and coming here today I had a couple of obstacles. I am proud of myself for making it so far, but looking behind I can see how difficult it was. On the last lap, my plan was to take the lead in the final corner, but I had to wait for 30 meters, because Sep was on my side and there wasn't any space, so those 30 meters cost me the victory."

 

”Of course, I am upset for missing out on the win, but being second here after those tough months in the winter is a win in itself for me and I am proud of this.

 

“I never doubted myself. I don’t need to do that. This morning I received a text message from the doctor who treated me in Abu Dhabi after my crash telling me today was the day I could look at my bike again. So I’m a little bit ahead of schedule. Today I finish as runner-up in Paris-Roubaix and had the opportunity to win it. In Flanders we say ‘you have to call a cat a cat’, I can’t be unsatisfied.

 

“If you try to win the race it’s possible you lose it. We went all in, we did everything we needed to do and maybe being second today won’t be so bad for the future.

 

"Maybe it’ll give me another year. It’s not all that obvious. If you watched the race then you know that I’ve given the maximum to get the win. Sprinting for the victory on this track is treacherous. In the final kilometres it was clear that nobody had energy left in his tank. We were there with five really strong riders.

 

"Everybody did his share of the work. Everybody who rode there deserved to get the win.”

 

The Belgian also made an analysis of the way the race went since the start and of the finale which saw five men play for the win in the "Queen of the Classics":

 

“We made a nice plan before the race to make it as hard as possible. We missed out on those 16 guys and so we had no other chance than to make it a hard race. Tony Martin did an incredible job today. We did it like the last few weeks actually. Now it turned out a bit better. It was a finale of 130 kilometres. Nobody was really trying to profit from each other. Just hard racing. That’s what I like.

 

“It was a standard Paris-Roubaix. That’s it. We had no information. We were just racing. I had to ask 15 times what was going on. The first time I was really sure I was in front was when we caught the breakaway. It was like every year. Chaos, crashes, flat tyres. The best way to watch the race is on television because in the race you have no idea where you are, unless you are in front.

 

“I missed the corner a bit on Carrefour de l’Arbre and from that point I was on the bad part of the cobble stones for a few metres. I thought it was a little bit early with the wind. It was a good choice not trying to close the gap [to Vanmarcke] full. Just keeping him out there was not that bad.

 

“Everybody was on their limit. It was very hard to get away because everybody knew I was trying to get a fifth victory. In the end I found a good moment when everybody was tired. I managed to sneak away. Mathew passed me. He was going so fast. I was almost killing myself to get back in the wheel. Then I thought to myself that maybe I was running out of juice. Everybody was really tired. I was still confident in the sprint. I knew I had to be in front in the sprint.

 

“I didn’t make a mistake. I was unlucky that I didn’t have the space to pass. It’s a sprint. It’s never like you expect it to happen. I was trying to take the last corner from the lead. He passed me there. I had to wait a little because Sep was passing me but he then lost momentum. I needed to wait for about 40 metres. It cost me the victory, or at least the chance to sprint against him. I was already too far behind. Maybe I should’ve gone earlier at half speed.

 

 “Mat was the rider nobody was really looking at. He rode a good sprint. He passed where he had to pass. A guy like him really deserves a victory like this after a career of helping people out and being in finales of classics a lot but not really getting the big wins. Like in the past, riders like him can win Paris-Roubaix. I think that’s not a bad thing. We all tried our best and we have to be happy with the result we get.

 

“There was an opportunity today to do a great finale. I'm very glad with the team. We had made a nice plan before the race to make the race as hard as possible. We missed a few riders and we did not have a chance to do that. Martin rode a great race as usual. We did everything the way we had planned it. Even in the finale, I rode to win it. I worked very hard. In the final sprint I did everything I could to win it. But I was dead, everyone was dead.

 

“We rode a very hard race. We were all strong riders sharing the race and it's normal. It was just hard racing, with nobody trying to profit from the others.

 

Tomorrow I'm not sure which will be the top emotion. Maybe being second won't be so bad for the future. Maybe it will give me another year.

 

Many were curious to find out what was Tom Boonen's top emotion at the end of the day, and he made some light on this, while also offering some hints related to his future:

 

"I'm not sure how I will feel on Monday, but at the moment I am happy with my performance, because it was hard to come back at this level after that injury. Maybe coming second it's not so bad in the end and will give me that extra motivation for another year.

 

 

“I’m a few days off now. I’ll need the time to really think about all the stuff that happened the last four months. I was really rushing myself to get in shape.

“At this moment I don’t really see a reason why I shouldn’t come back next year. I’m pleased with second place but I want to try one more time.”

 

Patrick Lefevere: It’s up to Boonen to decide if he wants to retire

"We went a fifth win with,” manager Patrick Lefevere told Het Neiwusbald. "It was win or lose and unfortunately for Tom he lost. I do not think he made a mistake on the track. He laid all the cards on the table to close the gap on Hayman. They were all at their limit in the final 5km. No one had the juice to get away.

 

"Tom had one scare in the sprint, he said this morning. But I think today the freshest won. It's easy to say that this was to be his race, but we were hoping for the best. He worked every day to get here. Tom has done a very nice race, gone for the win done everything and he is fighting at the end. You saw that it was a sprint of five riders who were exhausted, dying swans. It would have been nice if he had won and made history, but it's not like that. That's a pity. "

 

"Whether he now has to stop? That question is not at all important. it's up to Tom to make that decision. If you see him race like today, that is not an issue. The riders can ride into their 40s but the question is whether Tom can still keep doing all those sacrifices. That's something he has to decide.”

 

Ian Stannard with mixed emotions: Maybe it was a bad idea to attack

Ian Stannard dug deep to claim a hard-fought third place in a thrilling edition of Paris-Roubaix.

 

After 257.5 kilometres of racing the Brit found himself in a five-man shootout for the victory in the famous velodrome, starting his sprint late around the outside in front of a screaming crowd.

 

Third was the end result, as ahead Mat Hayman (Orica-GreenEdge) took a memorable victory, edging out Tom Boonen (Etixx - Quick-Step) in the sprint for the line.

 

Equalling the best ever British performance in the Monument Classic, Stannard attacked repeatedly in the closing stages as the elite lead group traded blows. Each move was shut down, leading to a grandstand finish over one and a half laps of the Roubaix Velodrome.

 

Team Sky put together a strong team performance in the Queen of the Classics, heading into a key run of cobbled sectors with four riders on the front of a vastly reduced bunch.

 

Luck ran out as Gianni Moscon, amidst a superb ride in his Roubaix debut, slid out on a slick corner. Stannard dodged his team-mate but Luke Rowe was brought down briefly in the melee.

 

Minutes later Salvatore Puccio was also caught out on slippery cobbles, leaving Stannard alone out front. That was until Rowe found new reserves and battled back to the lead group. A huge pull from the Welshman, leading onto the Camphin-en-Pevele sector, set up Stannard for the first of multiple attacks.

 

Rowe never gave up and rode to an eventual 14th position, 2:20 back on a shell-shocked Hayman.

 

“I’m pleased to finish on the podium, but it’s so close yet so far I guess,” said Stannard. “Everyone was getting stuck in – certainly myself, I didn’t want to come into a sprint with Boonen and Edvald. In hindsight it might have been better to save my legs, and it might have been a different result…

 

“We were ahead of it [the crash], team did a great job on position, me and Luke weren’t out of top five coming into each sector. I didn’t see or hear the crash, we came off the sector and there were about 25 guys left, so it made it a good situation for us I guess.

 

“It was slippy out there, with the rain yesterday, sunshine today and it kept catching a lot of people out. We had four guys but then the others crashed so, there we are, that’s bike racing…

 

“Before the Carrefour, Luke said he was pretty tired, he knew there were some crosswinds coming up so he just committed, really put it in the gutter, then in he tailwind section he put the hammer down a bit.

 

“There were five of us left, then Sep  went. It got tough then, some hard racing. I felt pretty good when we were chasing him so I kind of wanted to attack in the final – I didn’t want to come into velodrome with guys with sprinting pedigree like Boonen and Edvald so I tried to attack and get away myself – it’s where I’m better if you like.

 

“I had a little bit of speed left but the cobbles were pretty slippery and you lose a lot of energy on them. But it was good fun to stay at the front. The finale was pretty nervous.

 

“The final was pretty nervous, tough racing, no one really had the legs left. It shows what a hard race it was, the guys you’d expect to sprint a lot faster had nothing left.

 

“Mat’s a great friend and I’m super happy to see him win. For him to be outsprinting Boonen is pretty impressive. He’s an ex-teammate, I’ve seen everything he’s done and put in for everyone else, it’s nice to see him get a result.”

 

“I’ve always had ambitions for this race ever since I first watched it on TV. It’s nice to get on the podium, but two more steps to work my way up now.

 

”I'm obviously happy to be on the podium. But it's also so close, so far. There are still two steps to go, maybe next year.”

 

Luke Rowe: After my crash, I sacrificed myself for Stannard

After the race Rowe recalled an action-packed finale, and was quick to praise the incredible work of his team-mates.

 

He said: "We crashed on the section before Pevele. Then I had to chase so hard to get back. I knew then that was the one big effort of the day done. So as soon as I came back I said to Yogi 'I'm all yours man, just tell me what to do and I'll do it.' It was kind of a waiting game and then when we were coming into the section before Carrefour we knew the wind would be like that. It was just a case of trying to thin that group down so we could launch an attack there. Everyone gives something to someone and the whole team were incredible. They gave us so much. The way it turned out, I gave everything I had for Yogi. He just finished on the podium in what I consider to be the biggest Monument in the world so I'm super happy for him. 

 

"We were probably the best represented out there. We had Puccio in the original break and then five guys behind - four after Arenberg. So we had the numbers and the team had guys riding this race for the first time. Gianni was here for the first time and he's pulling a group of 20 along with all the hitters in it. When you have guys like that stepping it up just spurs you on and you want to be just as good."

 

Sport Director Servais Knaven echoed those sentiments, adding: "It was a really great performance from the whole team. Having four guys in the first group at 50km to go was brilliant. Then we got our bad luck on one section where three guys crashed and Yogi was standing still at one point. Only Luke managed to come back but that took a lot out of him. He was not able to fight at the very front after that effort so he played the perfect team-mate for Ian into the final 20km. It was a great team effort.

 

"It's really great to see Ian on the podium. It's his favourite race and I'm really really happy for him."

 

In a rapid, echelon-filled start, Elia Viviani, Christian Knees and Puccio were in the thick of the action at the head of the race. That persistence paid off with Puccio forging his way into the day's break as the 27 sectors began to be ticked off.

 

Nerves and crashes saw the peloton split apart with Rowe, Danny van Poppel, Moscon, Stannard, and Knees all present on sector 20 - Maing to Monchaux-sur-Ecaillon - with the gap pushing out to a minute.

Stannard followed a secondary move as the race disintegrated. Distanced from the action, pre-race favourites Fabian Cancellara (Trek-Segafredo) and Peter Sagan (Tinkoff) were forced to ride - but both were ultimately held up by a hard crash on the Mons-en-Pevele sector.

 

Viviani hit by motorbike in Paris-Roubaix but expects to recover quickly

Viviani's race was ended by a crash in the Arenberg Forest, but happily checks revealed no fractures for the Italian after a scary incident. Puccio (33rd), Moscon (38th) and Van Poppel (61st) all pushed on to the finish.

 

"Elia is doing very well which is good news," confirmed team Doctor Derick Macleod. "He thought he'd anticipated the crash and saw it happen in front of him. He managed to come to a stop on the right by the barrier when the motorbike went into him. 

 

"He went to the hospital and the X-rays revealed he has no fractures. He's got a few bruises and abrasions and he's a bit sore obviously, but we're really thankful he's got no significant injuries. We expect him to make a quick recovery."

 

Sep Vanmarcke: I felt I was the best on the cobbles
Sep Vanmarcke finished fourth in the 114th edition of Paris-Roubaix today in France. Team LottoNL-Jumbo’s Belgian front man fought in the first group already early in the race, attacked at Carrefour de l’Arbre, but got caught and was beaten by three riders in the velodrome. Matthew Hayman (Orica - GreenEDGE) won the race.
 
“It was a special race today,” Sep Vanmarcke said. “It was a big fight from the beginning. We were in front with a small group of riders already early in the race. That was a perfect scenario for me. The team did a great job, as well. We were in front with six men at one point. I had a puncture one time and Tom Van Asbroeck brought me back. Not everyone was working in the first group, though, but we had to keep riding so the group with Sagan (Tinkoff) wasn’t able to come back. 
 
"I chose Carrefour de l’Arbre to try afterwards. I had a gap, but maybe I’m experienced enough to give something extra and hold it. I have the feeling that I was the best on the cobbles, but it wasn’t good enough. Our team took the initiative and we deserved a top three result.

"It was a special race. The beginning was normal and full gas. Just before the Wallers-Arenberg, a few riders got away and I was there. I also had a puncture but I could again get to the front. That did cost some power.

 

"It cost a lot of strength, but if you do not attack on the Carrefour, you have to nowhere to make your move. I got ten seconds and made good progress. I did not think they were going to catch me, but I failed to keep my advantage. In the finals you have to gamble and I was in a bad position at one kilometer to go. I closed the gap but unfortunately I could not sprint to a podium result.”

 

Vanmarcke’s team-mate Maarten Tjallingii had a special Paris-Roubaix, as well. He rode the race for the last time. 

 

“It was a hell today and I like that,” the team’s captain said. “I will remember this race for the rest of my life. It was a classic Paris-Roubaix with a surprising winner and an unexpected race story. The situation changed all the time. I have been busy with the race, but now, I realise that it was my last. My kids were there to support me. That was great. I’m finished now for the spring classics.”

 

Sports Director Nico Verhoeven had mixed feelings about the Hell of the North. 

 

“We had a big chance at victory, but what should have happened, didn’t happen,” he said. “The best scenario would have been if Sep broke away with someone else. The four riders he left on the Carrefour de l’Arbre weren’t strong enough to follow him, but were good enough to keep the gap small. The fourth place isn't a satisfying one in the end. It’s a poor reward for the team’s performance in the cobble stone classics.”

 

Edvald Boasson Hagen: I had lactic acid everywhere

For Dimension Data, Matt Brammeier and Jay Thomson were really attentive in the early parts of the race, following all the moves. Mark Cavendish also got in on the action and the Manxman got into a break of 24 riders which had a 30" lead on the peloton at one point but that move was shut down too. Eventually everything came back together and thankfully so as Boasson Hagen had punctured and had to chase back to the head of the race. It was only after kilometer 75 that the actual break of the day went clear. It was made up of 16 riders and the African Team had Reinardt Janse van Rensburg in the mix.

 

A big crash in the peloton saw a front split of 20 riders go clear. Dimension Data had Boasson Hagen and Bernhard Eisel in this definitive move while race favourites Peter Sagan (Tinkoff) and Fabian Cancellara (Trek-Segafredo) were caught in the group just behind, along with Cavendish.

 

In the end Boasson Hagen took 5th place, An incredible ride by the Norwegian champion and a terrific result by the African Team.

 

”It was hard but good. I was able to stay out of trouble for the most part but the last 10km was really hard, with a lot of attacks. It wasn't possible to get better than 5th but it is the best result I have had at Paris-Roubaix so far so that is good, but obviously you would want more and to get a podium,” he said.

 

 

“Right now it feels very hard. I had nothing to give, but I was there. In the end it became too tough. I was there all day and I'm very pleased with that. I would have liked to have been on the podium.

 

“I had lactic acid everywhere. I did not have a chance. But I managed at least to get back in time for the sprint and it was good. But I had no chance to do a sprint. It was too tough.”

 

Sports director Roger Hammond added:
 

“We came here to be part of the bike race and I don't think anybody can deny us that. Eddy pulled out one hell of a ride today and when you get into the final like that as a sprinter you always going to be clutching at straws.

 

”The team as a whole was great as well. Nic Dougall was a bit sick today and he still rode his heart out to keep Eddy up there in the beginning. Cavendish was part of a dangerous 24 rider move and then Reinardt got into the main break and he did an incredible ride, so we were always able to remain calm.

 

”Eddy was always going to be in a difficult position in that final though. With the national champions jersey on his shoulders and after having such a good start to his year he was always going to be a marked man. It was a pity but he has broken into the top 10 now and showed we can win.”

 

Amazing day for IAM with Haussler and Saramotins in Paris-Roubaix

IAM Cycling put in an outstanding team performance as the only squad that had three riders in the top-15.  Heinrich Haussler took 6th place in the sprint out of the second group, while Aleksejs Saramotins secured 8th. And then young Oliver Naesen tried his luck for a place in the top-10 sprinting against Peter Sagan from the third group on the road.

 

“I am very happy with this sixth place,” Heinrich Haussler commented after his well-deserved shower.  “The team did an amazing job.  We ended up at the front with Saramotins narrowly avoiding a pile-up.  But today my legs were on fire.  Although I was not able to stay with the leaders into the final, I have a ton of confidence for the rest of the season after my 7th place at Milan-San Remo.”

 

“I really pushed myself until the end.  When I finished and hit the lawn in the middle of the velodrome, I was dead,” Aleksejs Saramotins explained after taking a brilliant 8th place, which is a suitable follow-up to his 13th in the 2015 vintage.  “I love the cobblestones, and they put me on my mettle.  My dream is to win this classic once, and I intend to accomplish that before I’m through.”

 

 “I asked the guys to go out and ride aggressively for the entire race,” Rik Verbrugghe, sports manager for IAM Cycling, confided.  “Everything was in play up to a crash, and Oliver Naesen lost his chances there.  But we have other riders able to bring to us additional satisfactions. Haussler and Saramotins taking 6th and 8th place is encouraging and confirms the excellent work accomplished by the team.  They managed to ride at their top capabilities and returned to an exceptional level after their illnesses.”

 

6o points is what IAM Cycling scored in the team classification for the World Tour thanks to the 6th and 8th places that Heinrich Haussler and Aleksejs Saramotins earned. That will be added to the 34 that the team had garnered since the beginning of the season. That means the Swiss professional team has climbed two places to 13th in the team standings.

 

Marcel Sieberg shines for Lotto Soudal at Paris-Roubaix

After a very strong race Marcel Sieberg finished seventh in Paris-Roubaix today. The Lotto Soudal rider arrived at the finish one minute after the winner.

 

Traditionally, the race started in Compiègne. Jelle Wallays was very active in the beginning of the race. After a large breakaway with the Lotto Soudal rider had been caught Wallays set up a new one. It took a while before these sixteen riders got half a minute advantage. Unfortunately there was bad luck for Jelle Wallays, who had a puncture on the fifth cobblestone sector of the day. He would never get back to the head of the race.

 

Later in the race the peloton split due to a crash. Marcel Sieberg was part of the first group. After all his efforts Marcel Sieberg finished on the seventh place.

 

Sieberg said: “At the start I didn’t have a good feeling, but it got better once we hit the first cobbles. In the beginning of the race it was a hard battle to set up a breakaway. For us it was good that Jelle Wallays rode in front, but unfortunately he got dropped because of a puncture. Eventually I could move up to the head of the race. On the slippery cobbles I managed to avoid crashes. On the sector of Camphin-en-Pévèle Sky took the initiative and partly because of the wind our group split, although I admit the strongest in the race battled for the win. Together with Erviti, Haussler and Saramotins I chased them. We got close, up to about twenty seconds, but closing the gap wasn’t possible anymore. We just kept working together to secure our place in top ten. I am really happy with this result in my tenth consecutive Paris-Roubaix.”

 

Jürgen Roelandts: I would have loved to deliver a top result

“I got caught up behind a crash at the Trouée d’Arenberg and never got back in the race. Only few riders managed to do that. The last weeks I had some health issues. I did get a podium place in Milan-Sanremo and was seventh in Ghent-Wevelgem, but I would have loved to set a top result in other races as well. Next Sunday I will ride the Amstel Gold Race, but I will start with a different plan. In the team we have several riders who specifically prepared for the hilly classics, I will try to support them as much as I can.”

 

Tiesj Benoot: My injuries didn’t bother me

"I felt good today. I had no problems with my injuries,” Tiesj Benoot told Het Nieuwsblad. "I had to wait for a wheel for a long time in Arenberg and then never got back. I especially remember that I was at the start here."

 

Two excellent top 10s for impressive Erviti in cobbled monuments

Were the Movistar Team to dream of having a 'flandrien' in their ranks, they couldn't find one better than Imanol Erviti, the ever-dependable, humble domestique that the squad directed by Eusebio Unzué has enjoyed throughout the last twelve seasons. The 32-year-old from Pamplona astonished the world of cycling again by covering almost 200km in the break of Paris-Roubaix - 27 cobbled sections, 258 kilometers, risk and stress in every single turn - and crossing the finish line in the Velodrome in 9th place, just over a minute behind surprise winner Mat Hayman (OGE), who beat four-time victor Tom Boonen (EQS).

 

Erviti's escape forged clear 75km into the race, a twenty-man attempt finally sticking after lots of attempts. The group crossed the mythical Trouée d'Arenberg with 1'30" over the main field, split into two due to a mass crash, and was chased down, very few remnants together with Erviti, just over 60km from the finish. Erviti, even more resolute than in Flanders, did not miss a turn at the front and masterfully floated through the secteurs pavé - sticking even when only seven riders were part of the lead group. With less than 20km to go, an acceleration by Sky split his group, leaving Erviti with Saramotins, Haussler (IAM) and Sieberg (LTS) in pursuit of Boonen, Hayman, Stannard (SKY), Vanmarcke (TLJ) and Boasson Hagen (DDD).

 

Erviti, who at times even left his companions behind, ended up claiming his second top-ten finish in the cobbled classics, which makes him become the first ever Spaniard to chain top-ten results in both Flanders and Roubaix in the same year, as well as the only man, together with Vanmarcke, to claim such results in the 2016 spring campaign. Quite a success for a man who always conceived satisfaction in cycling as a matter of giving all he had for others.

 

The day's negative notes for the Movistar Team in Roubaix were marked by two incidents. 95km in, Nelson Oliveira suffered a crash against his left shoulder and arm; checkups on Monday will confirm or rule out any fractures. In turn, Fran Ventoso sustained a wound in his leg after roughly 140km; moved by ambulance to a hospital in Valenciennes, he's likely to undergo surgery and have stitches put on the cut, possibly involving muscle tissue.

 

Erviti said: “What a week! I'm super happy. Right after crossing the finish line, the taste was sort of bittersweet since I couldn't follow the wheels of the group I was in and couldn't improve that 9th - I was so tired. But later on, you reflect on what you did and you leave the Velodrome with a big smile. It's always difficult to get into the break in a Monument, like I did in Flanders, but entering two of them... it's sort of a master trick. And I couldn't have done so without a big helping hand from my team-mates. They kept the break clear so I could try and bridge, which I did.

 

"It wasn't a comfortable breakaway by any means. We had to ride fast all the time, the pace was high from very early in the race after the crash and Boonen's attack - they were always close to us, we never had a moment to breathe, and once we got caught, every single cobbled section was a small torture.

 

"I took my turns in the breaks because I wanted to be honest with my group, and I was also interested in that move to stick and going smoothly, rather than running by one attack after another. Following wheels instead of cooperating would have made me suffer more. Orobably I wasn't the man who pushed the strongest, but I didn't want to break the 'rules'. You've got to ride with everything you've got. Plus, I was so excited, because things had gone well in Flanders - I thought it was worth to make the effort. I was over my limit at the finish, I couldn't seek for a better place in the Velodrome, but I'm content with what I did because I think I acted correctly. This is how cycling works!

 

"I was keeping the wheel of my group on the section prior to the Carrefour de l'Arbre, but to be honest, I was starting to struggle - the ones in front of me were a bit stronger. I'm happy that Hayman won: Orica rode well, with two men in the early break, Mat in the escape so early… he's a deserved winner of this race.

 

"Should I find these legs again, I think I can do well on the cobblestones. But it's also true that it depends on following the right moves or rather entering the early breaks, which keep you more calm than into a big peloton. Weather conditions also played in my favor: allergies made me leave sad and without energy in previous years, because I couldn't make the efforts I wanted, with all the dust, the difficulties inherent to such races... Fortunately, it rained before both Flanders and Roubaix, the air was cleaner and I could be up there with the top guys. All in all, I'm really happy!"

 

Strong Adrien Petit is best home rider at Paris-Roubaix

"I went through the race several times last night in my bed,” he told L’Equipe. “I fought for a place.I t's so legendary. I was full of cramps in the last false flat in Hem and when you get to the velodrome, you go over your limits.

 

"Without the rain, it was more dangerous because it was not completely dry: they went full gas and suddenly there werewet cobblestones. This is where the guys were surprised, touched the brakes and crasked. When Cancellara hit the deck, that was the case. This is a tricky wet pave. In addition, the average speed was impressive: early in the race, it did not drop below 50km/h. We never had our usual natural break.”

 

"Given my feelings at the Tour of Flanders, I wanted to do well in this race. I was dropped before Haveluy and Arenberg. I came back to the Sagan- Cancellara group and I used my energy there. Then I tried to stay focused and be well placed but pfff. When Cancellara accelerated in Orchies, I was a bloc. To follow was not possible but I fought. In the velodrome, I used what was left.This is the race that makes me the dream. I'm at home: it's impressive to be encouraged by so many fans. "

 

Peter Sagan: My race was over when Cancellara crashed

After success at Flanders last weekend, all eyes were on Peter Sagan at today’s Paris-Roubaix, but by the finish line in the famous Roubaix velodrome it was not to be for the UCI World Champion as he finished in 11th position. Despite not being the result he was after, it was a hugely gutsy ride that saw him chasing for over 100km after getting caught behind a split, never giving up until the end.

 

After missing a select group that slipped clear with just over 100km to go, ahead of the Trouée d'Arenberg, after a crash in front of him, Sagan was on the back foot after a very fast and frenetic race all day. His chase group managed to get to within 30 seconds off the front group but they never managed to claw their way back.

 

“After all there was nothing wrong with Peter’s legs today, the race unfolded against his favour and that’s racing,” explained Lars Michaelsen when analysing the race at the finish. “When the other teams see how he won in Gent – Wevelgem and Flanders then they will attack earlier than expected. It had already been a hard race when the move came today and it worked against us.

 

“We lost Oscar Gatto to a crash with about 120km to go, damaging his hand and he will have some examinations now to see if any damage has been done, but he was to be a key rider for Peter in the final parts of the race.”

 

The racing was on from the start in Compiègne as attack after attack failed. With nothing getting clear for over 70km finally a group of 16 formed at the front, at the same time as the peloton splintered into three main groups in an exposed section of crosswinds – a warning of the hard day of racing still to come.

 

As the race settled into a rhythm and the cobblestone sectors started in earnest, the breakaway continued to pull out their advantage towards the three-minute mark. It was approaching the 100km to go point when the turning point came in the race for Tinkoff as one of the many crashes in the main group caught Sagan out, and away from the action as a select group of favourites formed at the front of the race.

 

Michaelsen continued: “We hoped to try and get a rider in the early move to then be able to help Peter later but this didn’t work out. The guys did a good job in looking after him in the first half of the race but after the split when he was chasing he was isolated. Juraj Sagan did a strong ride but he was also disappointed himself not to have the power to bring the gap down more. Other teams had the numbers in front and behind we were caught out.”

 

With other teams well represented at the front, Sagan was isolated in his chase behind and the gap was stretching out. The two front groups merged as more and more riders fell away all over to crashes and tired legs, but Peter kept pushing on with Fabian Cancellara (Trek-Segafredo) to try and close the gap.

 

Looking back over the race, Sagan admitted that luck was against him today.

 

“Everybody before was asking me if I was going to win or not but this is Paris-Roubaix and you never know what is going to happen. It’s a great race, and really historic, but one that is very hard to win. All of the teams come here and make their own strategies for the race, and today the two favourites were caught behind a crash while other teams had numbers at the front to control things. I was involved in two crashes already before the Arenberg sector and I was already in the second group there and without any cooperation it was hard to get back.

 

“Oscar had a heavy crash and some of the others also came down – it was a crazy day.”

It’s a well known fact that you need both luck and great bike handling skills in this race to stay upright and Sagan showed just how good his skills are when he had to hop over a falling Cancellara, just staying upright, but it was a big dent in the chase as the gap extended further.

 

“We were cooperating with Fabian but after he crashed we lost momentum – when he came down I jumped and managed to just get over – I was very lucky to not crash. From that point I think the race was over for me.” As the kilometres ticked by the gap remained and any chances of fighting for victory faded.

 

Courageous ride by Sinkeldam and De Backer in Giant-Alpecin title defence

After a crash at 116km, the Team Giant-Alpecin riders were in the second group and the Etixx-Quick Step team of Tom Boonen took the opportunity to increase the pace at the front of the race.

 

On the Trouée d’Arenberg, Cancellara attacked and Bert De Backer and Ramon Sinkeldam were strong enough to follow him to form a chasing group. They chased hard to try and reduce the gap. However, a crash caused by Cancellara sent a dozen riders to the ground and in the end, they were not able to make the junction with the leaders who were well organized at the front of the race.

 

They finished in a group 2’20” behind the winner.

 

Koen de Kort said: ” I think I had a pretty good day today. We were a bit unlucky with that crash that held us up early on in the race. We ended up being in the second group with Cancellara and Sagan. At that point, we were a little bit behind and we tried to get back in the race because we were not in the ideal situation to be in. When Sagan and Cancellara went full gas, I wasn’t in the perfect position at that moment but luckily two of my teammates were. I tried to bridge the gap with a small group but then another crash happened with Cancellara in it. All the cars had to stop and we had to stand still. Then my race was over from that point but I kept going trying to make the most out of today. Overall, I was feeling pretty good but I was hoping for a little bit more.”

 

Ramon Sinkeldam gave his thought after the race: “It was really a hard day, we were in front and then there was a crash caused by the Trek guys. Then there was a group in front with Boonen and Martin. We were in a group behind with Sagan and Cancellara. We just had to follow those guys and when they attacked I jumped in their wheel with Bert. At that moment, we were still in a good position but the gap was still at 1’00” with the front group and we weren’t able to close it. In the sprint, I was totally exhausted, I started my sprint with 200 meters to go and I finished in 15th place.

 

"Since my crash I've been working for this race. Paris-Roubaix is ​​a special race for me. I knew that if everything would go right, I could be right up there. Not everything went well, but the legs are getting better. I'm glad I'm here now, though I'm not my old self. I still feel have fear on the bike."

 

“The race went how we planned it. We wanted to have four guys in the finale with Nikias, Koen, Bert, and Ramon,” explained coach Marc Reef.  All the rest of the riders did a great job in protecting them. At section 20, the bunch split due to a crash and we weren’t in the first group. At section 12, Ramon and Bert were able to follow the strong guys and from that moment we tried to close the gap with the front group, we chased hard but unfortunately we didn’t succeed. In the end, we rode for 10th place and we managed to have two guys in the top 20.”

 

Frustrated Dylan Van Baarle: I was chasing all day

Dylan van Baarle was Cannondale’s top finisher at Paris-Roubaix, coming in with the first chase group to finish in 16th place.

 

"If you asked me before the race if I would be happy with 16th, I would have told you yes, but with the legs I had and the way the race unfolded, I'm disappointed. All day long I was chasing,” Van Baarle said

 

"I have chased all day and it sucks. I was always behind a crash and I was left to chase. My team was not strong enough to keep me in front constantly. Frankly, I never saw the front of the race which is very frustrating. At one time it really split and the group I was in did nothing to come back.”

 

BMC miss Greg Van Avermaet in tough Paris-Roubaix

Paris-Roubaix, Hell of the North, Queen of the Classics. Whatever you want to call it, it was one hell of a race. At 257.5 kilometers with 27 cobble sections, it was no easy ride.

 

One by one the BMC Racing Team riders made it back to the bus. They all had one thing in common…a look of sheer exhaustion.

 

After they collapsed into their seats on the bus, wiped the dirt from their faces and took a moment to take in what they had just been through, the team asked them one simple question: “How would you describe your Paris-Roubaix experience in one sentence?”

 

Marcus Burghardt: “I don’t think I’ve ever done such a fast Paris-Roubaix and I just ran out of energy and wasn’t able to stay at the front”.

 

Jempy Drucker: “It wasn’t how I wanted to finish after getting some good results at the earlier Classics but it’s Paris-Roubaix, it’s just one of those races that you can’t control”.

 

Floris Gerts: “It was my first time racing Paris-Roubaix and I think all I can say is it was one big adventure”.

 

Stefan Küng: “Good legs, bad luck….typical Paris-Roubaix”.

 

Daniel Oss: “It was Paris-Roubaix. What more can I say?”.

 

Taylor Phinney: “It was pretty much full gas all day so I definitely have much more of an appreciation of how hard it is just to finish this race”

 

Manuel Quinziato: “It’s disappointing to crash out of Paris-Roubaix but I was lucky in the end as I’m not too banged up. I’ve got a few new scars but that’s Paris-Roubaix.

 

Rick Zabel: “I survive hell today. On the cobbles it was really hectic and I had a flat and had to come back and then I crashed, but at the end of it I’m happy to finish my second Paris-Roubaix”.

 

And from the BMC Racing Team Sports Directors?

 

Fabio Baldato: “It’s not a Paris-Roubaix to remember for us. We didn’t have the legs and we didn’t have the luck”.

 

Valerio Piva: “Paris-Roubaix is a race at which you need to have condition, luck, legs, focus and motivation. It’s not as easy combination.”.

 

Bad luck mars Paris-Roubaix for Wanty-Groupe Gobert captains

Wanty-Groupe Gobert lined up in the 114th edition Paris-Roubaix with a team built around the three team captains Marco Marcato, Frederik Backaert and Dimitri Claeys. The pro-continental team wanted to perform as good as last year when they finished with four guys in the first 30. This year, Frederik Backaert was part of the breakaway and was the best finisher with a 22nd place at 6’18’’.

 

“I’m slightly disappointed not to be in the first 20, but I’m happy with my performance », Frederik Backaert says.

 

Straight from the beginning, Wanty-Groupe Gobert rode on attacking mode by putting Robin Stenuit in a group of six riders but the peloton caught them very quickly. After two hours of racing Frederik Backaert managed to get away with fifteen other riders. The breakaway got a lead of more than three minutes. The bunch controlled very well the gap with the leaders. After the famous Trouée of Arenberg, a few crashes split the peloton into different parts. Marco Marcato was in a group with big names as Peter Sagan and Fabian Cancellara.

 

After the Beuvry-la-Forêt’s cobbled section, the breakaway with Frederik Backaert was caught by a group with strong riders as Tom Boonen. Unfortunately, he coudn’t stay in this group because of Tom Van Asbroeck’s crash.

 

“This crash was the end for me. Otherwise, I could have followed them without any problem,” Frederik Backaert regrets.

 

On Mons-en-Pévèle’s cobbled section, bad luck still followed the team. Frederik Backaert and Marco Marcato hit the deck with Fabian Cancellara. The two riders went on riding and finised the race. Without this crash, Marco Marcato would have finished with Peter Sagan’s group, sports director Hilaire Van Der Schueren guarantees.

 

Frederik Backaert finishes on the 22nd place and was Wanty-Groupe Gobert’s best rider. Marco Marcato is 32nd.

 

”I have a nice feeling after this race. My riders were good but still need a bit more luck. Otherwise we would have a better result,” Hilaire Van Der Schueren concludes.

 

No result for Bora-Argon 18 on difficult day in Roubaix

Also today, for the most famous spring Classic, Paris – Roubaix, the plan of BORA – ARGON 18 was clear: Get into the early breakaway. The sports director predicted a big group would go clear early. The group was big, but it took over 80km again until it got clear. BORA – ARGON 18 missed this breakaway. Therefore, they had to pull on the front of the peloton, a task that did cost a lot of energy and resources.

 

After Arenberg, the only BORA – ARGON 18 rider in the Sagan-Cancellara group was Zak Dempster. When Cancellara and Sagan made their move, he was not able to follow and remained in the 3rd group. But he made another split later and was still fighting for a top 20 result. He finished Paris – Roubaix in 24th place.

 

“I crashed already before the first pavé sector. Therefore, I had to chase the peloton over the first 3 sectors. Before Arenberg I had a good position and could stay with the Cancellara group. In the Carrefour de l’Arbre section I gave it everything and and after it we were just a small group. I am really happy with my performance today, but it is a pity that Schilli [Andreas Schillinger] really had bad luck today,” Zak Dempster said.

 

“The guys really tried everything to get into the group today. But when it takes so long like today until a group goes clear, the guys who are dedicated to that job are already tired. Then you can miss the break sometimes. For me, I had a puncture before Arenberg, which is the worst place for a puncture in the whole race. I could get back to the peloton, but had to enter the pavé section at the back. Without a good position you really have no chance there, because there are a lot of crashes and due to that there are also several splits. I was caught in one of the groups behind, and therefore my race was more or less over then,” said Andreas Schillinger

 

Unlucky Damien Gaudin: I was ready to fight with Cancellara and Sagan

"I'm disappointed,” Damien Gaudin said. “The team had confidence in me and I was in shape. The team worked very well and Sébastien Turgot and Sébastien Minard positioned me ideally for Arenberg. I had never been so well placed at that point. I was with the top 12 with Sagan and Cancellara, and then there was this crash. This is a shame because I felt good and ready to fight with them. I'm looking forward to next year.”

 

Maxime Daniel: I told Gougeard that I wanted to do like him

"Yesterday I sent an SMS to Alexis Gougeard to tell him that I wanted to escape like him,” Maxime Daniel said after spending the day in the break. “That's what I did. Then I worked to bring Damien Gaudin back to the best. He did not have success but it is Paris-Roubaix. I'm pretty happy to have finished the race and to have made ​​my presence felt.” 

 

Fabian Cancellara: I am just glad that it is all over

It was not supposed to end this way.

 

A pile-up near the front of the peloton on sector 21 with 120 kilometers remaining of the 257-kilometers split the peloton, leaving two Trek-Segafredo teammates (Boy Van Poppel and Marco Coledan) on the ground and Fabian Cancellara in the second group behind a group of 23-25 riders. 

 

It spelled the beginning of the end.

 

Over 60 kilometers later the Mons-en-Pévèle sector 10 ultimately thrust the nail into his coffin. Cancellara's wheels slipped on a muddy section on the sector he had pointed out as the worst of them all in a pre-race press conference.

 

"The first crash I had to jump into the field and back, the second was just unlucky, and then the third was just like ice-skating, and I could do no nothing, it was over. Roubaix was gone," explained Cancellara. 

 

Cancellara remounted and continued in pursuit, but the gap to the front was an insurmountable three minutes. The game had ended. 

 

Paris-Roubaix is unpredictable. It's what makes it special. The 'hell of the north' takes its victims, weak and strong alike, and often when least expected.

 

"In the big crash in sector 21 we were only a little bit back," explained Jasper Stuyven. "But Etixx (Quick Step) and LottoNL-Jumbo pulled hard because they knew Fabian and Sagan were behind. It was a little bit chaotic for us at this moment: Boy and Marco crashed, Greggy had flatted, so we were a little bit all over.

 

"I had to start working pretty early, and I think everything was still looking okay when Fabian made his acceleration. Then when Fabian crashed, we lost everything." 

 

"Too bad for Fabian, I really wanted the victory for him.I had been jumping into the break early in the race because the race was never really quiet. We were just working to rectify the situation, but Fabian’s crash edstroyed everything. It’s a pity, a great pity, because we came closer to the others. Once we were close enough, Fabian would try to make the jump, everything seemed under control, and suddenly it was over.

 

”I was fine, but it is especially a shame for Fabian. I also wanted to assist in the final, but the race decided otherwise. I always feel good in Roubaix, someday I can win this race. I can not ride a finale yet but I think it should be possible for me in the coming years. " 

 

Cancellara added: "Everything started well. Good sleep, good breakfast, Popo in the break so we had a perfect situation and then suddenly things turned differently. 

 

"I knew it was going to be hard after the split, but also knew it is never over because Roubaix is a tough race. I just kept fighting. It was my last effort, and I knew that if you give up, then it is really over. I gave up maybe 10 or 15kms after my crash because I knew there it was impossible.

 

”That's Roubaix; I knew it was going to be a special race since it was not everywhere dry.

 

"I knew to stay up at the front, [to be] careful and really focused for every sector, but yeah…if you ride on second position or on last position, you can do nothing against a crash when it comes."

 

It would not be the final spill for Fabian, who slid out again in the velodrome while grabbing a Swiss flag and saluting the fans. Fabian, however, laughed that one off.

 

"Somehow yes, but somehow no," Cancellara responded when asked if ending his final Roubaix this way was hard. "Last week was harder (to accept), and I am just happy it is over. I was quite relaxed when I entered the velodrome. This was a different feeling than Flanders; there it was a battle to the end.

 

"I mean, even crashing on the velodrome in front of my fans I don't care, because one crash more or less changes nothing for my career. I am just happy in another way, but not happy about the race. Just happy it is done."

 

It was the final race of Yaroslav Popovych, who joined the key 16-man breakaway that finally escaped after 67 kilometers. 

 

With all the pandemonium occurring behind, Popovych was finally called back to help in the chase after Markel Irizar and Stuyven each gave his last ounce of energy. 

 

Popovych dropped back and in one final exertion he finished his career as he should - a devoted teammate to the last moment - as he pulled one last time for his leader. 

 

"I just want to enjoy with Popo, our last Roubaix together and his last race," Cancellara added. "We want to make a loop on the velodrome, then go back to the hotel for a nice evening, celebrating, even though we have not won. But somehow that's sport, that's cycling – you can win you can lose, and we can still celebrate all that.

 

”Crash or not, it doesn't change anything. Thats the way it goes. Roubaix is a special race. The day started very well and it didn't end the way I wanted it to. I'm happy all the same but I always said that you needed luck in Roubaix and today I was not lucky. That's Paris-Roubaix, it really is the Hell of the North.”

 

The victor was a surprise: Matt Hayman (Orica-GreenEdge), who was part of the breakaway, took home the esteemed cobblestone trophy winning a five-up sprint in a thrilling finale to a highly exhilarating race.
 
Paris-Roubaix: Unpredictable in all its glory.

 

Puncture takes Alexander Kristoff out of contention in Roubaix

Despite there already being splits in the peloton, possibilities still looked good for Team KATUSHA and Alexander Kristoff coming through the well-known Arenberg forest with some 100km to go. But Lady Luck was not smiling too brightly on Kristoff this day and no result was in store for the strong Norwegian sprinter.

 

”We were a little bit behind in Arenberg, but not too far. I thought we could come back. Then two sectors later I had a puncture with my back wheel. The groups were already splitting apart in the crosswinds. I had to stop there to change wheels because in the corners my wheel was sliding. Right then I knew it was over,” said Alexander Kristoff.

 

Kristoff and teammates were part of the Fabian Cancellara-Peter Sagan chase group that struggled to get back on terms with a Tom Boonen-led group more than 1 minute up the road.

 

“I knew to have a chance today I would have to avoid any punctures because I was not as strong as some of the favorites. It was impossible to chase back. We had a good team plan with first Nils Politt going in the attack, followed by Aleksandr Porsev. Later Michael Mørkøv was part of the main attack but he also punctured. We didn’t really have so much luck today. I felt quite good, actually, so it’s hard to come away with nothing,” said team leader Alexander Kristoff.

 

Kristoff finished in 48th pace at 14:23 along with team riders Mørkøv and Viatcheslav Kuznetsov on the same time; Marco Haller arrived four minutes later. Teammates Vladimir Isaychev, Porsev and Politt all crashed out of the race, while Jacopo Guarnieri was unable to start due to a fever.

 

Ill Lars Boom leaves Paris-Roubaix with no result

“I didn’t sleep last night because I have astrong cold. I hope I will be back for the last two classics,” explained Lars Boom who was forced to abandon from the race due to a severe cold.

 

“I was in the second group but some riders fell in front of me and I fell too. I was very unlucky todaym,” said a disappointed Laurens De Vreese after finishing one of the most difficult races in the season.

 

It was very hard race and a very unlucky day for Laurens De Vreese and for his Astana teammates.

 

“It was a difficult day, the team suffered some unlucky circumstances like flat tires and some crashes,” commented sport director Stefano Zanini. “It was not our day, but I think we completed the first part of the northern classics with good results, like the victory at the De Panne.”

 

Difficult Paris-Roubaix for Fortuneo-Vital Concept

Fortuneo-Vital Concept were never really in the mix

 

Steven Tronet (75th) : "It was my first Paris-Roubaix, I' had no mechanical problem or puncture and I avoided the crashes. This morning, we have not managed to join the break, it's not for a lack of trying. Then I fought to get to the finish, I could not imagine giving up. In the velodrome, I was just happy to finish.”

 

Benoit Jarrier (64th) : "I tried to join the break this morning, without success. The sensations were good. Unfortunately in Arenberg, they crashed three or four positions in front of me and I was caught in the crash with my teammates. We never saw the front again. It's a shame to bel eft behind as the race is not the same. It's part of cycling. Paris-Roubaix is a mythical race and it is exceptional to hit the Velodrome, and read: Hell of the North leads to Paradise!”

 

Frank Bonnamour (DNF- first participation): "I was not well positioned at the first acceleration on the cobblestones. I joined some splits and I found myself at the back trying to close the gaps. At one point, I cracked, I paid for my efforts at the start of the race. It was the war from the start, there was never any respite. This is the first time I ride with so many spectators, it was great and impressive. I got through the Arenberg behind the peloton, but there was always a lot of people to encourage us. These are unique times.

 

Sébastien Hinault - Sporting Director: "The movement race started very early, but we were caught in the crash at Arenberg, unfortunately. We knew we had to be well placed to avoid being trapped, but there were crashes in the first part. They were not able to return. It never stopped at the front, it must have been a good race on television. Riders were everywhere. Francis Mourey and Benoit Jarrier work well, we hope to play a leading role in the Tro Bro Léon next weekend. "

 

Frustrated FDJ team: Our riders didn't fight

FDJ manager Marc Madiot had black eyes in Roubaix on Sunday after a spectacular classic during which his riders did not live up to his expectations.

 

''The leader (Arnaud Démare) is absent and everything goes wrong! I don't blame youngsters Marc Sarreau and Olivier Le Gac who fought but fell victim of mechanical problems that ended up being too much. Marc was with the group with Cancellara bu he punctured in the Arenberg forest and when he was back on his bike, he had lost too much time. Olivier crashed once, punctured three times but he has fought. Regarding the rest, Johan Le Bon was in the break but at least he had the merit of trying.Otherwise, I'm not satisfied and they know it."

 

Overall the cobbled classics campaign were a disappointment as Arnaud Démare was unable to defend his chances after finishing fifth in Ghent -Wevelgem. His crash in the Tour of Flanders cost him the chance to do Paris-Roubaix and his presence would have changed the situation.

 

"I have not forgotten what happened three weeks ago but I cannot say I was excited by what I saw. I've seen too many guys that did not fight, and in this race you get nowhere if you don't fight."

 

Marko Kump puts Lampre-Merida jersey on show at Paris-Roubaix.

Luka Piberbik and Marko Kump finished the race for Lampre-Merida. The latter was in the break.

 

"The start of the race was very challenging. Despite many attempts, no escape could take off,” said Kump. “We at Lampre-MERIDA tried to attack in turns. I found the right time and with 15 riders we got an advantage. 
 

“When we finally realized that the group let us go, we worked well, reaching a maximum lead of just over 4 minutes. I was fine, the spectators in the Arenberg forest were amazing. I tried to avoid crashes or accidents. Unfortunately, in Hornaing, the energies began to run out and I lost contact with the leading group .”

 

It was an unlucky day for Federico Zurlo who was involved in a crash that forcd him to withdraw. The young Venetian was taken to hospital in Valenciennes where he was joined by team doctor Ronchi and where investigations have shown a strong contusion to his right wrist and a deep wound on the fifth finger of his right hand.