Press Release Cobble Or Nothing! Everyone was expecting Johan Museeuw, Franck Vandenbroucke or Tom Boonen, and in the end it was to be another Belgian, Peter Van Petegem, who victoriously crossed the finish line in Roubaix, contrary to pre-race predictions making Quick Step – Davitamon the team to beat. «Cobble Wizzard» Patrick Lefévère relinquinshes the famed classic for the first time in six years… A feat only the more impressive as Peter Van Petegem was not supported by a team as strong as that of his rivals. Transcended by the rainbow jersey of the overall World Cup leader he wears so proudly, the Lotto-Domo champion concluded with a winning sprint a day during which his tactical sense and his incomparable athleticism did wonders… With a tally of 200 points, he strengthens his UCI World Cup lead, and becomes the first rider since fellowcountryman Roger De Vlaeminck in 1977 to win both the Tour of Flanders and the Queen of Classics the same year. Newsflashes 17:21 - The Best Of The Rest Italian Dario Pieri finishes second, Ekimov third and Andrea Tafi is rewarded for his efforts, with fourth place. 17:16 - Van Petegem Wins Belgian Van Petegem wins the three-men-sprint on the Roubaix Velodrome. To the delight of Flemish fans, waving their flags. 17:14 - Final Sprint The three are on the velodrome, with less than one lap to go. 17:12 - Nice Try... As they enter Roubaix, pursuit specialist Ekimov tries to sprint away, but Van Petegem and Pieri manage to keep up the pace. 17:10 - Three For A Crown Five kilometres from the line, the three leaders fully cooperate, while at the back Museeuw looses more time with a puncture. 17:01 - Van Petegem Isn't Dead Yet! In the Carrefour de l'Arbre stretch, Van Petegem launches a fierce comeback and the trio is now a foursome. 16:46 - Ekimov Joins Up With 20 km to go, Ekimov catches up Pieri & Aldag. The counter-attackers are 30’’ behind. 16:29 - Gap Widens Things aren’t looking good for Museeuw. The group of thirteen now leads by 1’25’’. 16:20 - Museeuw In A Spot With 40 kilometres left, thirteen riders lead the race: Knaven, Aldag, Hundertmarck, Nardello, Pieri, Ivanov, Wauters, Vainsteins, Nazon, Van Petegem, Tafi, Van Heeswijk, Ekimov. Museeuw and the pack now trail by 1’05’’. 16:06 - A New Race In Hands As they reach the paved sector n°9, Van Petegem leads the way, with Tafi landing a few skimirshes. Behind, Museeuw and the pack step up the pace, now trail by only 30 sec. 16:36 - Pieri & Aldag: A Surprising Duo Dario Pieri puts on the burner and takes control of the race. Behind him, only Rolf Aldag takes up the chase. The duo leads by 32 sec. With less than 30 km left. 15:46 - Back To The Drawing Board Shortly after the 200 km-mark, the pack catches-up with the breakaway. With the exception of Vandenbroucke, all the pre-race favorites are still in contention. 15:41 - Equaling Roger De Vlaeminck Johan Museeuw and Peter Van Petegem share a common goal: claiming a place in cycling history alongside Roger De Vlaeminck… Should he win today, Van Petegem would be the first rider since De Vlaeminck in 1977 to claim both the Tour of Flanders and the Queen of Classics the same year; as for Museeuw, if he crosses the line first in Roubaix, he would equal RDV’s record of four victories in Paris-Roubaix. 15:20 - Eight In Front Eight riders currently lead the race: BRAMATI, HUNDERTMARCK, BERTOGLIATI, D. NAZON, CRUZ, GARCIA ACOSTA, SEIGNEUR, URBAN. 15:07 - Down To Six Coming out of Arenberg, six riders lead the race, including Damien Nazon. The head of the pack is 2’30’’ behind. 14:55 - In Arenberg! The race has reached the famed Arenberg cobbled trench, with the race leaders prefering to ride in the grass. 14:45 - Things Are Cooking During the cobblestones sector n°16 of Haveluy, the big guns take charge at the head of the pack: Museeuw, Tafi, Van Petegem, Guesdon, Boonen, Zabel and O’Grady are putting on the heat. 14:33 - Tafi Is Back Nine riders now lead. At the back, eight riders have pulled-away from the pack to counter-attack, including Nicolas Jalabert. The pack is 3’25’’ behind. Tafi and Guesdon are back into the pack. 14:20 - Unlucky Tafi Very active in leading the chase after the breakaways, Andrea Tafi has just had a flat tire and lost a lot of time in reparing. 14:16 - A Daunting Race With crashes and punctures galore in the paved sectors, the race situation is very confused. Rain or shine, Paris-Roubaix remains a daunting race. 13:54 - VDB Out As Italian Fabio Baldato, victim of the day’s first crash, fights his way back into the pack, Franck Vandenbroucke calls it quits. A big blow for the Quick Step Team, as the 28-year-old Belgian was one of the pre-race favorites, having skipped Gand - Wevelghem to better prepare Paris-Roubaix. 13:44 - VDB in difficulty At the Solesmes feed zone (Km 166,5), the lead of the breakaway has gone back up to 3’40’’. Meanwhile, Vandenbroucke is complaining of pain in his left thigh. 13:39 - Meet Mr Nazon Damien Nazon who has played an active role in the morning breakaway is a formal winner of Paris-Roubaix amateurs; the leader of the Brioches La Boulangère team, winner of a stage in the last month Critérium International, is quite an all-rounder. 13:26 - ...12 During the second cobbled stretch, Frenchman Julien Laidoun looses ground on his fellow breakaways. 13:23 - Down To 13 Australian Corey Sweet has dropped back from the breakaway group, whose lead has fallen to 3'30''. 13:19 - Heading for the Cobbles The 14 breakaways are heading into the first cobblestones stretch (2.2 km) in Troisvilles. The race is moving along at a very lightening pace, thanks to the good weather, with a 15’-lead over the quickest timetable forecast… 13:12 - First Fall Ten riders are involved in a fall within the pack, notably the Australian Matt Wilson and the Italian Fabio Baldato. 13:08 - The Main Contenders The Quick Step – Davitamon Team is the team to beat in this 101th Paris Roubaix. Johan Museeuw and Servais Knaven have won the last three, as Tom Boonen (third last year) and Franck Vandenbroucke are strong contenders. Need it be said that the Belgian squad has Patrick Lefevere at its helm, the legendary «Cobble Wizzard», who has won six of the last seven Paris-Roubaix with two different teams (Mapei & Domo). It will be a hard task to outpace this dream team, even if the likes of Andrea Tafi, Nico Mattan, Peter Van Petegem, Erik Zabel, Stuart O’Grady, Sylvain Chavanel and Frédéric Guesdon have a different plan in mind… 13:00 - No Cause For Alarm, But... At Km 82, near Bohain-en-Vermandois, the breakaway now leads the pack by five minutes. 12:32 - Still Ahead At Saint-Quentin (Km 59), the 14 breakaways are still going strong, with a lead of 3’35’’. 12:29 - You were just wondering about the standings? After two legs, two riders hold a commanding lead in the UCI World Cup standings, thanks to their respective victories in Milan – San Remo and the Tour of Flanders, Italian Paolo Bettini and Belgian Peter Van Petegem. Johan Museeuw is the most notable absentee in the current rankings, whereas Franck Vandenbroucke’s comeback is the early season’s major highlight. Standings : 1 - Peter VAN PETEGEM (BEL / LOT): 100pts 2 - Paolo BETTINI (ITA /QSD): 100pts 3 - Mirko CELESTINO (ITA /SAE): 85pts 4 - Frank VANDENBROUCKE (BEL / QSD): 70pts 5 - Stuart O'GRADY (AUS / C.A): 55pts 11:56 - Ride Like The Wind As they ride through Golancourt (Km 36), the breakaways make good use of a favorable wind to increase their lead, which is now 1’25’’. 11:50 - Thanks Rob! As Australian cycling’s n°1 fan Rob Arnold (Editor of the renowned Ride Cycling Review, which will be in Australia the official publisher of the Centenary Tour de France Official Guide in July) tactfully points out, a little weather uptade is called for. It’s a lovely Spring day in Northern France, the poppies are in full bloom, not a cloud in sight… Who will bite the dust on dry cobblestone? 11:42 - Hold your bets A group of 14 riders who broke away at Km 15 (BRAMATI, ALDAG, BERTOGLIATI, LODDO, LAIDOUN, D. NAZON, C. SWEET, HERVE, CRUZ, GARCIA ACOSTA, CAPELLE, VAN SPEYBROCK, SEIGNEUR, URBAN) holds a 30’-lead over the pack. 11:19 - One No-Show Spaniard Rafael Mateos (206 - Ibanesto.com) is the only rider no to have taken the start. 11:11 - An Imperial Start for the Queen of Classics The 101th running of the «Queen of Classics» set off at 11.01am from Compiegne’s Imperial Square, with 190 riders taking the start. 11:03 - In the starting-blocks Welcome to the official Paris-Roubaix Website, where you will find regular updates troughout the day.