Cancellara Conquers Cobbles

   Fabian Cancellara was certainly a dominant physical presence over the cobbles in Sunday’s Paris-Roubaix, but, with the help of his team director, he also outsmarted his opponents to claim his third win in the historic race. A bit of bad luck to a couple rivals certainly didn’t hurt, either!

 

 

   Because of his past success in this race and his recent excellent form, Cancellara was a marked man, which makes his victory such an amazing result. With less than 50 kilometers to go, he found himself in a breakaway of about a dozen riders, off the front by over a minute.  Strong contenders in this group also included Bernard Eisel (Sky), Greg Van Avermaet (BMC) and the ever-present, but seldom successful, Juan Antonio Flecha (Vacansoleil-DCM). To me the real danger-men were multiple world cyclocross champions Lars Boom (Blanco) and Zdenek Stybar (Omega Pharma-Quickstep), who thrive over the rough roads of this race.

   This group split in two with about 30 km left, and an interesting poker match ensued with Cancellara refusing to chase, and even slipping back for a visit to his team car. The Radio Shack team leader had crashed twice in the last week, including a fall during a reconnaissance ride of one of the remaining sections of cobbles, and even the commentators (incorrectly) thought he was suffering. Surprisingly he jumped clear at the next cobble sector, and in a flash, he was with the break.

   Belgians Sep Vanmarke (Blanco) and Stijn Vandenbergh (Omega Pharma- Quickstep), slipped off the front immediately and put 30 seconds on their four competitors. Cancellara patiently sat in with the chasers, perhaps recovering a bit from his earlier effort to close the gap, and then accelerated with 25 km to go, with only Stybar able to respond.

 

   It now appeared the Omega Pharma-Quickstep duo had the advantage, with Vandenbergh driving the pace for the quartet and Stybar sitting on Cancellara’s wheel (photo above). Unfortunately for them, a couple of spectators helped to change the outcome of the race. Vandenbergh was riding in the soft dirt gutter to avoid a rough cobbled section, when he struck a retreating fan and went down. Just a few minutes later, Stybar was reportedly clipped by an outstretched camera, and lost contact with his companions. One of the special things about cycling is the proximity fans have to the athletes, but with the crowding of the road that you see at the front of pro races, I find it amazing how infrequently mishaps occur! 

   As Vanmarke and Cancellara entered the Roubaix Velodrome alone, I wondered how much the Swiss star had left in the tank. Wisely, Vanmarke led out the sprint to force his opponent to expend the extra energy to come around him, but Cancellara had just enough to edge past by a bike length. It was a bit of a strange victory celebration (photo below) with the earlier breakaway riders appearing to cross the finish just ahead of the winner, but of course, they had yet to complete their final lap – just another fun quirk of this classic event!