From the AP…
PARIS (AP) — Tom Boonen of Belgium won his second Paris-Roubaix race Sunday, beating former champion Fabian Cancellara of Switzerland in a sprint finish.
Boonen, the 2005 champion, looked in control throughout and his superior acceleration took him past Cancellara heading into the final turn of the Roubaix velodrome.
Cancellara, who won in 2006, could not match Boonen’s burst and eased up in the saddle as the Belgian sped clear with 100 meters left. Alessandro Ballan of Italy was third.
“After such a long race, at this rhythm, anything can happen in a sprint,” Boonen said. “But when I got to the velodrome, I knew I was more fresh than the others.”
All three riders had the same time of 5 hours, 58 minutes, 42 seconds.
“I have been rehearsing this race in my mind for the last three months,” Boonen said. “Thinking about it every day.”
Ballan and Cancellara both looked tired as they came out of the final cobblestone section and into the last 15 kilometers (9.3 miles).
The one-day classic is one of the toughest races in cycling, with 28 cobblestone sections covering 52.8 kilometers (32.74 miles) of the total 259.5 kilometers (160.9 miles).
With the wind at their backs, Matthe Pronk, Jan Kuyckx and Alexander Serov broke away from the pack and led by 5:30 after 147 kilometers (91.1 miles).
At that point, Thor Hushovd of Norway stopped his bike and pulled out of the race.
Other pre-race favorites had trouble, with Juan Antonio Flecha of Spain and Filippo Pozzato of Italy both tumbling.
A dozen cylists fell when one rider broke suddenly, another crashed taking a narrow turn at speed, and Yuriy Krivtsov somersaulted over his handlebars into a ditch after losing balance on cobblestones.
George Hincapie punctured his tire at one stage, but did not lose too much time.
As the pack went through the famed Arenberg cobblestone section, Boonen’s Quick Step teammate, Stijn Devolder, increased the pace with 100 kilometers (62 miles) left, causing some to drop behind.
Riders from Cancellara’s Team CSC and Ballan’s Lampre forged ahead alongside Quick Step, catching Serov and Kuyckx with 80 kilometers (49.6 miles) to go, and then Pronk soon after.
After losing nearly 1 minute to the main pack, Flecha caught up with 65 kilometers (40.3 miles) to go.
Pozzato, his right hip bleeding from a fall, caught the main group of about 40 riders a few minutes later.
Boonen, Devolder, Cancellara, O’Grady, Leif Hoste and Ballan formed part of an eight-man breakaway about 50 kilometers (31 miles) out, while Pozzato and Flecha fell back after expending too much energy in their chase.
Cancellara, Ballan and Boonen went ahead with 35 kilometers (21.7 miles) to go.
Results:
1. Tom Boonen, Belgium, Quick Step, 5 hours, 58 minutes, 42 seconds.
2. Fabian Cancellara, Switzerland, Team CSC, same time.
3. Alessandro Ballan, Italy, Lampre, same time.
4. Martijn Maaskant, Netherlands, Slipstream Chipotle, 3 minutes, 39 seconds behind.
5. Stuart O’Grady, Australia, Team CSC, 3:57.
6. Leif Hoste, Belgium, Silence-Lotto, same time.
7. Stijn Devolder, Belgium, Quick Step, 3:59.
8. Johan Van Summeren, Belgium, Silence-Lotto, 4:35.
9. George Hincapie, United States, High Road, 5:12.
10. Fabio Baldato, Italy, Lampre, same time.
