BiciRace.com :: 2006 Paris-Roubaix

2006 Paris-Roubaix, Report

Paris-Roubaix, France

9 April, 259.5K

Swiss Cancellara Solos Home

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Swiss Cancellara Solos Home, photo: ASO

Swiss Fabian Cancellara (Team CSC) blasted away his enemies with 16 kilometers to the finish of the 104th Paris-Roubaix, riding the remainder of the course to finish solo on the famed velodrome. The 25 year-old blew away a Disco duo and former Paris-Roubaix winners, Boonen and Van Petegem. Cancellara's win is the second Swiss win in Roubaix history, and the first in 83 years.

The peloton rolled out of Compiegne for the start of the 2006 Paris-Roubaix on a clear and dry day. The feared cobbled sectors awaited the peloton, starting at 98K (-162K) the riders would face 27 hellish patches of pavé.

From the start there was fighting and shoving before the day's early move formed. A group of four went clear at 68K, and by the first sector, Troisvilles à Inchy, they had two minutes back to the peloton. The four: Joost Posthuma (Rabobank), Nicolas Portal (Caisse d'Epargne-Illes Balears), Stephan Schreck (T-Mobile) and Dmitri Konyshev (LPR).

Hincapie & Boonen Tip the Arenberg Wave, photo: Quick-Step

The four plowed on, minus Konyshev, and were barely still clear by the famed sector 17: Trouée d'Arenberg (or Forest of Arenberg, 163.5K). In the forest, like normal, chaos ensued, with only the front runners having any sort of peace. The cream rose to the top: Tom Boonen (Quick-Step) and George Hincapie (Discovery Channel) were on the tip of the wave of strong-men cruising over the bent pavé.

14 Man Move After Arenberg, photo: Quick-Step

Exiting the Arenberg an elite group of favorites moved forward, which would eventually fight it out of for final honors. What was interesting was that the king, Tom Boonen, was solo and Disco had three men. The riders: Boonen (Quick-Step), Peter Van Petegem, Gert Steegmans (Davitamon-Lotto), Hincapie, Vladimir Gusev, Leif Hoste (Discovery), Fabian Cancellara, Lars Michaelsen (Team CSC), Steffen Wesemann (T-Mobile), Frédéric Guesdon, Bernard Eisel (Française Des Jeux), Juan Antonio Flecha (Rabobank), Alessandro Ballan (Lampre-Fondital), Portal (Caisse d'Epargne).

Sector 11, Auchy-lez-Orchies à Bersée, with 51K remaining, the action was becoming hot: Flecha started flexing his Spanish muscle to thin the group. Boonen and Hincapie were there every time to answer the Spaniard, who attacked again in section 10, Mons-en-Pévèle. The 3K section, a five-star section at -47K, cleared the group of Portal and Michaelsen, and sadly l'Americano.

Ballan Rode Well, 3rd, photo: Lampre-Fondital

Hincapie, who can't get any luck in this race, went head over heals when his steerer snapped. Handlebars gone, George had nothing to hold onto, and tumbled off the pavé into the grass, with his hand in the air. Disco was now down to two riders in the front, Russian Gusev and Belgian Hoste. Others left were: Boonen, Cancellara, Van Petegem, Ballan and Flecha.

Sector 5 (-20K), Camphin-en-Pévè, was where the final destruction was done. Flecha was driving the pace over the four-star sector, when Swiss Cancellara decided it was time to launch. The CSC rider jammed it hard, and only a tired-looking Gusev latched on. The others looked at each other as the Swiss-Russian duo rode free at -19K.

Cancellara Charges, photo: ASO

It was to be the last anyone would see of Cancellara, who dropped Disco Gusev in the following five-star sector, the Carrefour de l'Arbre. The Russian could not hang on, and the Swiss rode off solo for victory on the Roubaix velodrome.

Behind, the others looked trashed. Hoste, with Van Petegem, bridged to his teammate, and the trio kept the fire behind Cancellara. Further back, Boonen, who was struggling to come to terms after his Flanders victory only seven days ago, joined forces with Ballan and Flecha.

Boonen Trio Crosses Train Tracks, photo: Quick-Step

Two separate trios were chasing the Swiss express, who had fortune on his side when clearing a train crossing at -9K. 32" later the first trio came to the crossing and went around the gates, a no no, then Boonen's group was forced to stop for 10" and let the train pass. This was a key moment of confusion, that would later lead to the disqualification of Hoste, Gusev and Van Petegem [at the time of this writing], and give Boonen second for the day, followed by Ballan in third.

But nothing stopped the sweet victory of 25 year-old Cancellara. The Swiss entered the Roubaix velodrome solo to the sound of screaming French tifosi. Cancellara, with a comfortable margin, was able to savor his win, his biggest to date.

Results: 6:07'54", 42.239 1 Fabian Cancellara (Swi) Team CSC 2 Tom Boonen (Bel) Quick-Step 3 Alessandro Ballan (Ita) Lampre-Fondital 4 Juan Antonio Flecha (Spa) Rabobank 5 Bernhard Eisel (Aut) Française Des Jeux 6 Steffen Wesemann (Swi) T-Mobile 7 Frédéric Guesdon (Fra) Française Des Jeux 8 Bert Roesems (Bel) Davitamon-Lotto 9 Christophe Mengin (Fra) Française Des Jeux 10 Staf Scheirlinckx (Bel) Cofidis 11 Pedro Horrillo (Spa) Rabobank 12 Erik Zabel (Ger) Milram 13 Steven De Jongh (Ned) Quick-Step 14 Leon Van Bon (Ned) Davitamon-Lotto 15 Filippo Pozzato (Ita) Quick-Step 16 Aart Vierhouten (Ned) Skil-Shimano 17 Baden Cooke (Aus) Unibet.com 18 Martin Elmiger (Swi) Phonak 19 Lars Michaelsen (Den) Team CSC 20 Marco Serpellini (Ita) Unibet.com 21 Anthony Geslin (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 22 Marcus Burghardt (Ger) T-Mobile 23 Mathew Hayman (Aus) Rabobank 24 Roger Hammond (GBr) Discovery Channel 25 Jimmy Casper (Fra) Cofidis 26 Kurt-Asle Arvesen (Nor) Team CSC 27 Enrico Poitschke (Ger) Milram 28 Henk Vogels (Aus) Davitamon-Lotto 29 Arnaud Labbe (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 30 Ralf Grabsch (Ger) Milram 31 Allan Johansen (Den) Team CSC 32 Nico Mattan (Bel) Davitamon-Lotto 33 Jeremy Hunt (GBr) Unibet.com 34 Marco Milesi (Ita) Liquigas 35 Kevin Hulsmans (Bel) Quick-Step 36 Nicolas Portal (Fra) Caisse 37 Marc Wauters (Bel) Rabobank 38 Andy Flickinger (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 39 Christophe Laurent (Fra) Agritubel 40 Frank Hoj (Den) Gerolsteiner 41 Aivaras Baranauskas (Ltu) Agritubel 42 Andreas Klier (Ger) T-Mobile 43 Marcus Ljungqvist (Swe) Team CSC 44 Servais Knaven (Ned) Quick-Step 45 Alessandro Cortinovis (Ita) Milram 46 Martin Müller (Swi) Milram 47 Jean-Patrick Nazon (Fra) Ag2R Prévoyance 48 Jimmy Engoulvent (Fra) Crédit Agricole 49 Bradley Wiggins (GBr) Cofidis 50 Imanol Erviti (Spa) Caisse 51 José Vicente Garcia (Spa) 52 Wilfried Cretskens (Bel) Quick-Step 53 Cédric Coutouly (Fra) Agritubel 54 Wim Vansevenant (Bel) Davitamon-Lotto 55 Paolo Fornaciari (Ita) Lampre-Fondital 56 Enrico Franzoi (Ita) Lampre-Fondital 57 Nick Nuyens (Bel) Quick-Step 58 Sébastien Hinault (Fra) Crédit Agricole 59 Kevin Van Impe (Bel) Quick-Step 60 Marc De Maar (Ned) Rabobank 61 Gert Steegmans (Bel) Davitamon-Lotto 62 Laszlo Bodrogi (Hun) Crédit Agricole 63 Jan Boven (Ned) Rabobank 64 Tomas Vaitkus (Ltu) Ag2R Prévoyance 65 Sebastian Langeveld (Ned) Skil-Shimano 66 Matthew Wilson (Aus) Unibet.com 67 Vicente Reynes (Spa) Caisse 68 David Kopp (Ger) Gerolsteiner 69 Robert Hunter (RSA) Phonak 70 Gustav Erik Larsson (Swe) Française Des Jeux 71 Erki Pütsep (Est) Ag2R Prévoyance 72 Yuri Mitlushenko (Ukr) Team LPR 73 Heinrich Haussler (Ger) Gerolsteiner 74 Matthew White (Aus) Discovery Channel 75 William Bonnet (Fra) Crédit Agricole 76 Luciano Pagliarini (Bra) Saunier Duval-Prodir 77 Koen De Kort (Ned) Liberty Seguros-Würth 78 Peter Wrolich (Aut) Gerolsteiner 79 Aaron Kemps (Aus) Liberty Seguros-Würth 80 Koldo Fernández (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 81 Piet Rooijakkers (Ned) Skil-Shimano 82 Hervé Duclos-Lassalle (Fra) Cofidis 83 Sjef De Wilde (Bel) Landbouwkrediet-Colnago 84 Christophe Agnolutto (Fra) Agritubel 85 Florent Brard (Fra) Caisse 86 Ludovic Auger (Fra) Française Des Jeux 87 Andoni Aranaga (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 88 Rony Martias (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 89 Mathieu Claude (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 90 Maarten Tjallingii (Ned) Skil-Shimano 91 Markel Irizar (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 92 Kevin Neyrinck (Bel) Landbouwkrediet-Colnago 93 Mauro Da Dalto (Ita) Liquigas 94 Stéphane Bergès (Fra) Agritubel 95 Franck Renier (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 96 Tristan Valentin (Fra) Cofidis 97 Bas Giling (Ned) T-Mobile 98 Laurent Mangel (Fra) Ag2R Prévoyance 99 Paul Martens (Ger) Skil-Shimano 100 André Korff (Ger) T-Mobile 101 Gilles Canouet (Fra) Agritubel 102 Joseba Zubeldia (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 103 Mikhaylo Khalilov (Ukr) Team LPR 104 Dimitri Konyshev (Rus) Team LPR 105 Rik Reinerink (Ned) Skil-Shimano 106 Jurgen Van Loocke (Bel) 107 Daniele Righi (Ita) Lampre-Fondital 108 Stefano Zanini (Ita) Liquigas 109 Matthé Pronk (Ned) Unibet.com 110 Ángel Gómez Gómez (Spa) 111 Erwin Thijs (Bel) Unibet.com 112 Aurélien Clerc (Swi) Phonak K/h

1.49

3.25
5.35
6.31
6.44

6.45
6.49

d'Epargne-Illes Balears

d'Epargne-Illes Balears
Caisse d'Epargne-Illes Balears

7.24
9.32
10.53
11.18
13.13
15.58

d'Epargne-Illes Balears 16.44
19.07
19.20

d'Epargne-Illes Balears

19.32

19.36
19.38
Landbouwkrediet-Colnago

30.56
Saunier Duval-Prodir
34.34

Time cut (hors delai)
HD Kenny Van Hummel (Ned) Skil-Shimano
HD Marco Righetto (Ita) Liquigas
HD Lénaïc Olivier (Fra) Agritubel
HD Martin Pedersen (Den) Team CSC

Disqualified
Track Crossing while Gates down!
DSQ Peter Van Petegem (Bel) Davitamon-Lotto
DSQ Vladimir Gusev (Rus) Discovery Channel
DSQ Leif Hoste (Bel) Discovery Channel

Did not finish
DNF Iker Flores (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi
DNF John Gadret (Fra) Ag2R Prévoyance
DNF Renaud Dion (Fra) Ag2R Prévoyance
DNF Carlos Zarate (Spa) Saunier Duval-Prodir
DNF Francisco José Ventoso (Spa) Saunier Duval-Prodir
DNF Sebastian Siedler (Ger) Milram
DNF Geoffroy Lequatre (Fra) Cofidis
DNF Thierry Marichal (Bel) Cofidis
DNF Aaron Olson (USA) Saunier Duval-Prodir
DNF Piotr Mazur (Pol) Saunier Duval-Prodir
DNF Charles Dionne (Can) Saunier Duval-Prodir
DNF Yohann Gène (Fra) Bouygues Telecom
DNF Sébastien Minard (Fra) Cofidis
DNF Sébastien Chavanel (Fra) Bouygues Telecom
DNF Unai Uribarri (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi
DNF Ivan Mayoz (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi
DNF David Herrero (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi
DNF Alberto Ongarato (Ita) Milram
DNF Alexandre Usov (Blr) Ag2R Prévoyance
DNF Masahiro Shinagawa (Jpn) Skil-Shimano
DNF Michele Maccanti (Ita) Team LPR
DNF Mattia Gavazzi (Ita) Team LPR
DNF Giairo Ermeti (Ita) Team LPR
DNF Gene Michael Bates (Aus) Team LPR
DNF Johan Verstrepen (Bel) Landbouwkrediet-Colnago
DNF Jean-Paul Simon (Bel) Landbouwkrediet-Colnago
DNF Filip Meirhaeghe (Bel) Landbouwkrediet-Colnago
DNF Mathieu Criquielion (Bel) Landbouwkrediet-Colnago
DNF Andy Cappelle (Bel) Landbouwkrediet-Colnago
DNF Luis Pasamontes (Spa) Unibet.com
DNF David Boucher (Fra) Unibet.com
DNF Benoît Sinner (Fra) Agritubel
DNF Nicola Loda (Ita) Liquigas
DNF Francesco Failli (Ita) Liquigas
DNF Daniele Colli (Ita) Liquigas
DNF Christophe Riblon (Fra) Ag2R Prévoyance
DNF Simone Cadamuro (Ita) Milram
DNF Stephan Schreck (Ger) T-Mobile
DNF Matteo Bono (Ita) Lampre-Fondital
DNF Tom Steels (Bel) Davitamon-Lotto
DNF Gregory Rast (Swi) Phonak
DNF Uros Murn (Slo) Phonak
DNF Ryder Hesjedal (Can) Phonak
DNF Fabrizio Guidi (Ita) Phonak
DNF Bert Grabsch (Ger) Phonak
DNF Luke Roberts (Aus) Team CSC
DNF Christian Müller (Ger) Team CSC
DNF Michael Rich (Ger) Gerolsteiner
DNF Sebastian Lang (Ger) Gerolsteiner
DNF Sven Krauss (Ger) Gerolsteiner
DNF Thomas Fothen (Ger) Gerolsteiner
DNF Joost Posthuma (Ned) Rabobank
DNF Benjamin Noval (Spa) Discovery Channel
DNF Guennadi Mikhailov (Rus) Discovery Channel
DNF Stijn Devolder (Bel) Discovery Channel
DNF Claudio Corioni (Ita) Lampre-Fondital
DNF David Loosli (Swi) Lampre-Fondital
DNF Carlos Abellán (Spa) Liberty Seguros-Würth
DNF Bram Schmitz (Ned) T-Mobile
DNF André Greipel (Ger) T-Mobile
DNF Francis Mourey (Fra) Française Des Jeux
DNF Lilian Jegou (Fra) Française Des Jeux
DNF Christophe Detilloux (Bel) Française Des Jeux
DNF Alexei Markov (Rus) Caisse d'Epargne-Illes Balears
DNF José Cayetano Julià (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne-Illes Balears
DNF Eric Berthou (Fra) Caisse d'Epargne-Illes Balears
DNF Yannick Talabardon (Fra) Crédit Agricole
DNF Mark Renshaw (Aus) Crédit Agricole
DNF Cyril Lemoine (Fra) Crédit Agricole
DNF Thor Hushovd (Nor) Crédit Agricole
DNF Ivan Santos (Spa) Liberty Seguros-Würth
DNF Eladio Sánchez (Spa) Liberty Seguros-Würth
DNF José Joaquín Rojas (Spa) Liberty Seguros-Würth
DNF Allan Davis (Aus) Liberty Seguros-Würth
DNF Assan Bazayev (Kaz) Liberty Seguros-Würth
DNF George Hincapie (USA) Discovery Channel