Paris Roubaix 2012 Highlights

Tom Boonen rewrote the history books as planned but with even more style than expected to win his fourth Paris-Roubaix in a textbook 110th edition of the Queen of Classics. It was widely forecast that the Belgian would equal Roger De Vlaeminck’s record but the way he did it, by breaking clear with 55 kilometres to go and remaining on his own for more than an hour, was a fantastic display of sheer class. Boonen timed his move perfectly, launching a first attack after his unlucky team-mate Sylvain Chavanel punctured on the 200-kms mark. The first blow did not finish off his two leading rivals, Alessandro Ballan (BMC) and Filippo Pozzato (FAR) but the two Italians bowed when the Tour of Flanders winner struck again with Dutch team-mate Niki Terpstra two kilometers further. At the finish, Boonen raised a cobble for the fourth time, with a special smile on his face. After two years of struggle, the 31-year-old Belgian also became the first man to win the Ronde and the Hell of the North in the same year twice. He is now arguably the strongest man in history in the Flanders classics with 21 wins in the region.