MY ROUBAIX

Paris-Roubaix was my favourite race and I always started with the feeling I could win. It’s the one race that I found it hard to watch after I retired. Twice I had bad luck, which cost me a shot at winning. I was third at the Worlds, but that was fine - I could have done things differently, but that came down to my decision and you do the best you can. Bad luck is different. I was fourth in 1998, but that was behind the Mapei riders who came first to third and to win would have been difficult. I was closer in 2004 - I was one of the strongest but I punctured and the other managers made their riders go hard so I wouldn’t get back. I closed a gap of a minute, got to 10 metres, but then couldn’t catch the break. I wanted to see what could have been. I had a love-hate relationship with the cobbles. They were the most beautiful part of the race, but at the same time they are dangerous and scary. It’s hard to explain - it’s awesome to race Paris-Roubaix, but you are scared at the same time. I love shooting it now - it’s a great race to work on and it’s always good to be back.