Cancellara wins his third Paris-roubaix after tough session

SWISS Fabian Cancellara kept his composure to win a third ParisRoubaix title, outdoing Belgian Sep Vanmarcke in a session of track cycling tactics at the end of a 254km ride yesterday.

Cancellara, who won the Queen of the Classics in 2006 and 2010, entered the Roubaix outdoor velodrome, where the finish line was drawn, for 1 laps against a rival who is supposed to be a better sprinter. Yet the RadioShack-Leopard rider, who achieved his second Tour of Flanders/Paris-Roubaix double, forced his opponent to a standstill on the velodrome as both men played mind games for position.

Vanmarcke was tricked into starting the sprint and the Blanco rider was leapfrogged on the home straight.

Dutchman Niki Terpstra won a four-man sprint for third position after the OmegaPharma-Quick Step team — who were supposed to ride for Frenchman Sylvain Chavanel in the absence of holder Tom Boonen — and Thord Hushovd’s BMC outfit failed to mount a proper challenge around their designated leaders.

On a sunny yet cold day in northern France, the battle started early but Cancellara remained focused all day.

With about 135km left, big guns Edvald Boasson Hagen, Geraint Thomas and Taylor Phinney were in a breakaway group that was quickly chased down by Cancellara’s team. A group of four, including 2007 winner Stuart O’Grady, had an advantage of 1:40 entering the much-feared Trouee d’Arenberg, a 2,400m cobbled section 96km from the finish.

The lead was down to just over 30 seconds after Phinney had led the bunch through the trench in impressive fashion, but the American eventually vanished out of contention.

Thomas and Filippo Pozzatto of Lampre crashed on a cobbled section with 72km left, but the Italian, second in the race in 2009, made it back into the bunch, just like Norway’s Hushovd after a third puncture.

Frenchman Mathieu Ladagnous of the FDJ team, who had an outside chance, pulled out after his second crash of the day.

France’s Damien Gaudin of Europcar also joined the leading riders but the lead shrank when Cancellara himself accelerated in the Auchy-les-Orchies cobbled sector. Reuters