Paris-Roubaix

Check out Nick Legan's author page.

Check out Nick Legan's author page.

Check out Nick Legan's author page.

BMC team doctor Max Testa says Taylor Phinney’s early departure from the Volta a Catalunya last week doesn’t mean that he will not be able to start Paris-Roubaix next month.

The cobbled classics are truly a subcategory of their own, reserved for the strongest, grittiest riders of the pro peloton.

BANYOLES, Spain (VN) – Gatis Smukulis slipped back into the peloton in Wednesday’s big climbing stage at the Volta a Catalunya, but a big stage win and two days in the leader’s jersey put the relatively unknown Latvian firmly in the spotlight.

France's FMB makes, by hand, the tires prized by the cobbled classics stars.

The German Pro Continental squad NetApp earned a wild card invite to Paris-Roubaix, the race announced earlier this month. Team director Ralph Denk said the squad, which includes American Steven Cozza, was "euphoric" over the team's first selection for a WorldTour event.

MARINA DI CARRARA, Italy (VN) — Fabian Cancellara is confident. But who isn’t? The classics leader for Leopard-Trek will start Tirreno-Adriatico with the stage 1 team time trial on Wednesday. He told reporters Tuesday that he sees no reason that he can’t repeat his double feat of Tour of Flanders/Paris-Roubaix wins from 2010.

Though Mark Cavendish has been relatively quiet so far this season, HTC-Highroad brass is confident that their ace sprinter is poised for a brilliant season.

MUSCAT, Oman (AFP) - Reigning world road race champion Thor Hushovd has admitted his days of pushing to the front in a bid to win every bunch sprint that is within his grasp are now practically over.

Recently crowned world champion Thor Hushovd says he hopes to win Paris-Roubaix next year wearing the rainbow jersey.

André Mahé, the man who controversially shared victory in the 1949 edition of Paris-Roubaix with Serse Coppi, died Wednesday at his home in Brittany at the age of 90.

Roger Hammond is entering perhaps his final year of racing on a beefed up Garmin-Cervelo squad

A new book from VeloPress, The Spring Classics delves deeply into the rich stories of cycling's most glorious and meaningful history.

ASO is planning a citizens cyclosportive along the Paris-Roubaix course next April

Specialized kicked off its 2011 product presentation this weekend at Keystone Resort in Colorado.

Knaven prepares for final races

Saxo Bank's Fabian Cancellara on on Tuesday dismissed claims that he used a motorised bike when winning this season's Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix classics.

There's a big difference in pay days when it comes to golf and cycling.

Tech editor Zack Vestal looks at the bikes of Paris-Roubaix before they were subjected to a beating on the cobbles.

David Millar says he’ll leave Paris-Roubaix to the experts. The Garmin-Transitions captain got his first real taste of the Hell of the North, but made a mid-course revelation that he’s not cut out for the punishing march across the cobblestones.

VeloNews technical editor Zack Vestal spends Paris-Roubaix with the Mavic neutral support crew.

Beelgian world junior road champion Jasper Stuyven wins the junior edition of Paris-Roubaix.

American Lawson Craddock takes third in the juniors race at Paris-Roubaix.

Cervélo's Thor Hushovd finishes second and Brit Roger Hammond beats out two-time winner Tom Boonen for fourth — a good Paris-Roubaix, the team says.

An ill-timed crash on the cobbles undoes Tyler Farrar's Paris-Roubaix.

Crashes and close calls mark Paris-Roubaix for nine North American riders competing in Sunday’s “Hell of the North.”

Fabian Cancellara wins Paris-Roubaix.

2010 Paris-Rouabaix results

On Sunday, VeloNews.com will give away an autographed, high-quality print of this photo of George Hincapie, which was produced for the cover of the December 2009 issue of VeloNews. The winner will be chosen at random from among the followers of the VeloNews.com live coverage of Paris-Nice.

The riders of Team Sky are among a fortunate few whose bike sponsor attacked early in the season to equip them with brand new bikes for Paris-Roubaix

When the cameras roll on Sunday at Paris-Roubaix, keep your eyes peeled. Lazer Helmets and Oakley eyewear both have new accessories that will appear on sponsored riders.

Ask Sky’s Greg Henderson what he remembers about last year’s Paris-Roubaix, his first, and he won’t pull any punches with his answer.

He’s not the rider whose name is being bandied about as a podium pick, but HTC-Columbia’s Bernhard Eisel enters Paris-Roubaix Sunday with the support of his team and the confidence of a Ghent-Wevelgem victory two weeks ago.

Boonen: “The most important thing is to enjoy it”

The late two-time Paris-Roubaix champion Franco Ballerini, who died in an auto accident in February, is to be honored by race organizers on Sunday.

Britain's David Millar and Dutchman Theo Bos could not come from more different cycling backgrounds. But both will set aside everything they know about the sport as they prepare for an unforgettable experience on Sunday's grueling one-day classic, Paris-Roubaix.

Milram is making the Mares cyclocross platform available to those riders that choose to use it for Roubaix.

RadioShack riders will be lining up on bikes uniquely prepared for the world’s toughest single-day bike race.

VeloNews managing editor Neal Rogers, on the scene in France, gives a preview of Sunday's Paris-Roubaix

There’s no question Thor Hushovd would like to be in with a chance to win Paris-Roubaix on Sunday. By all accounts his Cervélo TestTeam has done everything possible to make his ride as successful as it can be, starting with his bike.

Specialized is letting a new Roubaix bike be seen under Saxo Bank star Fabian Cancellara this week in Belgium.

He’s never won a cobbled classic, and he’s yet to figure out how to beat pre-race favorites Fabian Cancellara and Tom Boonen. But this weekend Team Sky’s Juan Antonio Flecha is taking the start at Paris-Roubaix intent on beating both for the win.

The pavé of Paris-Roubaix:

Paris-Roubaix by the numbers

Check out CyclingTips's author page.

George Hincapie talks about Paris-Roubaix past and present and his chances this Sunday

Start List: Paris-Roubaix

A look at Paris-Roubaix bikes tested at Scheldeprijs this week by HTC-Columbia, Milram, Saxo Bank and Garmin-Transitions.

2010 Classics bike galleries

Team Sky's Edvald Boasson Hagen has withdrawn from this Sunday's edition of Paris-Roubaix with an Achilles injury, his team confirmed on Wednesday.

2010 Paris-Roubaix galleries

Gallery: Boonen's classics bike

Basque hills and French cobblestones dominate what’s sure to be an action-packed week of racing in Europe.

Last year the second half of Boonen's campaign was compromised following a career-threatening second positive test for cocaine, but this season the big Quick Step rider, a world champion in 2005, appears reborn.

Teams announced for 2010 Paris-Roubaix

Anthony Tan sits down with George Hincapie to talk about pre-race rituals, Paris-Roubaix, the Giro, Cadel Evans and his new team.

Filippo Pozzato believes he’s poised to win at least one major classic this spring and he could care less which one it is.

Former Paris-Roubaix winner and Italian national coach Franco Ballerini has died from injuries suffered in a rally car accident on Sunday.

The 108th Paris-Roubaix will be held on April 11th, 2010

Steven Cozza had a front-row seat for his debut at Paris-Roubaix on Sunday.   The 24-year-old bolted into the day’s main breakaway and then led the move across the famous Arenberg cobblestone section. Luckily, he wasn’t seriously injured in a late-race crash on a slick corner and was able to finish the race.   Things didn’t go as expected for the Garmin-Slipstream crew, who were quietly optimistic Martijn Maaskant would reach the final, top-three podium.  

Like many professional racers, Tony Cruz (BMC Racing) has a love-hate relationship with Paris-Roubaix. With Cruz, it’s mostly a love thing with the pavé, the history and the drama of the race, but he hates it that his dreams have been torpedoed by bad luck. Despite starting with high hopes in the team’s Paris-Roubaix debut, mechanical difficulties foiled Cruz’s ambitions Sunday and he was unable to reach the velodrome in what was his sixth Roubaix start of his career.

A few days after Boonen's victory, the photos are still rolling in from Paris-Roubaix. Despite this year's mostly dry conditions, teams were ready with bikes for all conditions. Padded bar tape, oversized tubular tires, box section aluminum rims, and closely matched front chainrings were virtually standard equipment. Other teams took things a step further, using cyclocross bikes, cantilever brakes, bar-top brake levers, and in some cases, custom hybrid road/cyclocross frames. Reporter Andrew Hood and photographer Graham Watson captured a few photos of team bikes just prior to the race.

China's Jin Long made history for his country here on Sunday by competing in arguably the world's toughest one-day classic bike race, the prestigious Paris-Roubaix. Unfortunately for Jin, his pre-race fears of not being able to negotiate the 27 sections of bone-shaking cobblestones peppered throughout the northern French epic came true as he failed to make it to the 100km mark. As a result, Jin did not make it to the finish line in Roubaix's famous outdoor velodrome where Belgian star Tom Boonen triumphed to join the elite club of three-time winners.

Sixteen people were injured, three of them seriously, when a race organizers’ motorbike struck a crowd of spectators during Paris-Roubaix on Sunday. Fire and rescue officials from Lille said 15 victims had to be evacuated, including three in serious condition, including a 4-year-old child. Colonel Bruno Moulart, commander of emergency intervention, said the injured were members of the same family, adding that he did not believe any lives were at risk. The victims were being transported to hospitals in Lille and Valenciennes, according to police.

Defending champion Tom Boonen soloed to victory in a dusty, crash-filled Paris-Roubaix on Sunday as Quick Step, Cervélo TestTeam and Silence-Lotto slugged it out toe to toe over the cobblestone trophy awarded to the victor in the Hell of the North.?? "The race was very hard," said the big Belgian after collecting his third win here, following triumphs in 2005 and 2008. Praising runner-up Filippo Pozzato (Katusha), he added: "This victory for me is the most beautiful because I beat Pozzato, who is a great champion."

Editor's Note: Will Frischkorn is a pro with the Garmin-Slipstream team. He is participating in Paris-Roubaix on Sunday. You can read his previous VeloNews.com columns here.

Fresh from retiring from one of the peloton’s most prolific careers, Erik Zabel is still busy at the races. These days he's working with the young riders at Columbia-Highroad. Mark Cavendish won Milan-San Remo after consulting with Zabel. "That was just amazing," Zabel said of Cavendish's closing sprint, and now the German veteran is officially working with several of the young riders on Columbia. "I'm an advisor for the young riders’ development for the Highroad team," Zabel said at the Tour of Flanders.

The following rosters were provided by ASO, organizers of Paris-Roubaix and updated as of Saturday, April 11.

Quick Step

Saxo Bank

Only a few riders are capable of winning Sunday’s 107th edition of Paris-Roubaix, and the number of favorites gets even smaller when you consider the strength of their teams. Given that premise, the winner should come from the Columbia-Highroad, Quick Step, Rabobank or Saxo Bank teams. And that means that George Hincapie, Tom Boonen, Stijn Devolder, Juan Antonio Flecha or Fabian Cancellara will be on the top step of the podium in the Roubaix velodrome Sunday evening.

The 259 kilometers between Compiègne and Roubaix are largely flat, but the Hell of the North has never been distinguished by climbs. What sets the so-called Queen of the Classics apart are the 52.9 kilometers of pavé, the often rough cobbles dating back as many as 200 years and carefully maintained by fans, promoters and local governments in northern France.

Sean Kelly once said that “a Paris-Roubaix without rain is not a true Paris-Roubaix.” Although now reporting from the sidelines, the two-time winner of the Hell of the North may get at least some satisfaction on Sunday as forecasts call for a 30-percent chance of scattered showers throughout the day when riders embark on the 259.5-kilometer (161 miles) route from Compiègne to the northern French city of Roubaix.

As the Paris-Roubaix weekend draws near, several teams have announced plans to use special edition frames in the legendary race. German brand Canyon Bicycles, sponsor of Silence-Lotto, has created a “Pavé” version of its Ultimate AL frameset for the team to use. And thanks to a wild-card invitation, the BMC racing team will take the start in Compeigne, with four riders piloting a new carbon-aluminum SLX model, instead of the standard ProMachine SLC01 carbon model.

Silence-Lotto's special edition from Canyon Bicycles

BMC is one of three American teams invited to this year's Paris-Roubaix. Garmin-Slipstream and Columbia-Highroad are the other teams invited to the April 12 event. "It shows the level of confidence that the race organizations have in our future," team directeur sportif John Lelangue said.

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).

Danish oufit CSC will be fired up to make amends for their debacle on the cobble of the snow-hit Flanders last week when they line up two former champions at Paris-Roubaix this Sunday. CSC goes into the 259.5km cobblestoned classic, known ominously as the 'Hell of the North,' as big favorites having won the past two years through Swiss Fabian Cancellara and Australian Stuart O'Grady. A rare hat-trick of wins is credible, and will be further boosted by their bid to banish the demons of last week's Tour of Flanders where they were decimated by crashes and punctures.