All Content

Minutes before the start of Sunday’s Paris-Roubaix in the French town of Compiegne, Slipstream-Chipotle boss Jonathan Vaughters predicted big things for his young Dutch rider, Martijn Maaskant. “Martijn is going to have a good ride today — he is going to be the surprise of the race,” Vaughters said. The 24-year-old Maaskant did not disappoint. In just his first crack at “The Hell of the North,” Maaskant finished fourth in the Roubaix municipal velodrome, crossing the line 3:39 behind race winner Tom Boonen.

The nasty rain didn’t show up for the 106th Paris-Roubaix, but a superb Tom Boonen sure did. On a Sunday of cool sunshine and favorable winds, the Quick Step team leader took his second Roubaix victory, three years after the first, with an unstoppable sprint over his final breakaway companions Fabian Cancellara (CSC) and Alessandro Ballan (Lampre).

Wet weather changes everything in Paris-Roubaix, and the forecast for this Sunday’s 106th edition is rain showers with a brisk tail wind throughout the day. These conditions will pose a new challenge for many riders, including the media’s big favorite, 2006 winner Fabian Cancellara of CSC. The big Swiss has never ridden the Hell of the North in the rain, and although he feels 100 percent better than he did at last weekend’s Tour of Flanders, he tipped other riders to be on the podium in the Roubaix velodrome Sunday night.

On the eve of his first try at Paris-Roubaix’s infamous pave´, Mike Friedman understandably has a few butterflies in his stomach. The 25-year-old Slipstream-Chipotle strongman is only a handful of months into his first-ever European campaign. And Friedman, affectionately called “Meatball” by the peloton, stands as one of his team’s chief lieutenants for its captain, 2004 Roubaix winner Magnus Backstedt.

Alberto Contador wrapped up another 2008 stage race win Saturday when he dominated the final time trial of the Vuelta al Pais Vasco, the tour of the Basque country. Contador grabbed the lead on the first stage with a blistering attack on the final climb. Throughout the six-stage race, sprinters like High Road's Kim Kirchen were able to grab stage wins while Contador's Astana team kept tight reins on the peloton to protect Contador's narrow lead.

Spain's Alberto Contador overcame toothache to add the Tour of the Basque Country to his triumph in last year's Tour de France after success in the sixth and final stage here Saturday. The Astana ace, who has dominated the week since taking the first stage, beat Australian Cadel Evans by 20 seconds in the 20km individual time trial to wrap up the ProTour event. Evans (Silence-Lotto) finished second too in the overall standings, 30sec adrift.

Team High Road's Chantal Beltman won the Ronde Van Drenthe race on Saturday, notching the team's second consecutive World Cup win. World champion Marianne Vos was second and High Road's Ina-Yoko Teutenberg was third at the race held in Drenthe, The Netherlands. The route includes several cobbled sections. Beltman took off in a three-woman breakaway after the second section of cobbles and broke away from the group with five kilometers left in the race. She built up a maximum lead of just 20 seconds, and finished 6 seconds ahead of the chase.

This year's Paris-Roubaix will come too early for defending champion Stuart O'Grady. But despite an admitted lack of form the Aussie is determined to play a key role in his CSC team's bid for a third victory in the world's toughest one-day bike race. "We're going there to win, and we're going to have to take risks," said O'Grady, who is primed to work for team leader Fabian Cancellara as he estimates his own form to be only "85 percent." If Fabian has a bad day then one of us can go up the road and take his place. That's the strength of our team."

Former world champion Tom Boonen said he is determined to make amends for his mediocre season so far by winning the prestigious Paris-Roubaix one-day classic. However Boonen is wary of a few rivals who he said have been preparing specially for cycling's toughest one-day classic. Boonen won the race for the first time in 2005, and goes into Sunday's epic knowing it could be his last chance to save his season after being upstaged by Quick Step teammate Stijn Devolder at the Tour of Flanders last week.

Disgraced former Tour de France winner Jan Ullrich is to pay out a million euro fine to end a fraud case which German prosecutors have been investigating, Focus news magazine reported on its Web site Saturday. Prosecutors accused the 1997 Tour de France winner of taking performance-enhancing drugs, leading under German law to fraud charges against the 34-year-old on the basis he deceived the public, sponsors and his team.

Switzerland's Fabian Cancellara has been promised the unwavering support of his CSC team as they go into battle for a third consecutive Paris-Roubaix crown on Sunday. CSC ride into the 259.5km cobblestoned classic, known ominously as the 'Hell of the North', as the favourites having won the past two years through Cancellara in 2006 and defending champion Stuart O'Grady.

In preparation for its first crack at Paris-Roubaix — arguably the world’s most demanding single-day event for riders and their bikes — Slipstream-Chipotle wisely called on their team captain Magnus Backstedt for technical recommendations. Maggy, the 2004 winner of the “Hell of the North,” keyed the team’s mechanics in to a few secrets of smoothing out the bumpy ride.

Quick Step rider Paolo Bettini fractured a rib when he fell in Thursday's fourth stage of the Tour of the Basque country, histeam said Saturday after he had hospital tests in Cecina, Italy. "I have suffered a lot this past couple of days. I hurt all over but today I am a little more optimistic. Last year I rode more than two weeks at the Giro with a cracked rib," said Bettini in a statement, promising to get back in the saddle as soon as possible.

A national organization representing law enforcement officers is scheduled to undertake its annual memorial ride to honor police killed in the line of duty next month. The 2008 Police Unity Tour is to begin May 9 in Jersey City, New Jersey, and end on May 12 at the National Law Enforcement Officers’ Memorial in Washington, D.C.

Rock Racing is suing the Tour de Georgia's owner and its organizing company, asking to be let into the race that starts April 21. The team's owner, Rock Racing LLC, filed a complaint April 8 asking for an injunction against the race's owner — the Tour de Georgia Foundation, and its organizer, Medalist Sports, court records show. A hearing in the case is scheduled for Tuesday in superior court in Fulton County, Georgia. Rock Racing spokeswoman Martine Charles said the team had an "oral agreement" with Medalist Sports to participate in the race.

Dear Readers,

Welcome to the latest edition of The Prologue, VeloNews.com's weekly summary of news from the world of competitive cycling.

The season is in full swing this week with racing underway both here in the U.S. and in Europe.

Italy's Damiano Cunego, riding for Lampre, won Friday's penultimate fifth stage of the Vuelta al Pais Vasco (the Tour of the Basque Country), a 162km run between Vitoria and Orio. Spain's Alberto Contador crossed the line in second in the same time as Cunego to retain the overall lead he's held since the first stage. Cunego lies second, eight seconds adrift. The day's ride was held in hostile weather and was marked by numerous falls just before the finish triggered by a near-the-line collision between Ricardo Ricco and David Herrero.

The UCI is allowing British track cyclist Rob Hayles to return to competition, two weeks after he was disqualified from the world track championships for having a high hematocrit level, the British cycling federation says. "British Cycling is very pleased that Rob has regained his license from the UCI and will be able to continue his racing program. We can now continue to concentrate on preparation for the Olympics in Beijing," British Cycling performance director Dave Brailsford said in a statement released Friday.

With weather reports calling for chances of precipitation ranging from 20- to 61-percent for Sunday’s race, Silence-Lotto isn’t taking any chances. The team’s eight Roubaix riders prerode with purpose-built X-Fire carbon cyclocross bikes on the course Thursday. The ’cross bike is built from Ridley’s 24-ton high modulus carbon fiber and its geometry is acceptable enough for Paris-Roubaix. Plus it offers a longer, more stable wheelbase and plenty of clearance for larger tires.

On paper the Liquigas Team is one of the favorite teams, but general manager Roberto Amadio knows that to win the Paris-Roubaix the good leg is not enough.