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Paris-Roubaix Live... To the Finish!

  • Cancellara attacks and Gusev can't follow! Flecha is weaking in the back of the chase! Very bad cobbles now. Nice work by the cameras accelerating on nasty cobbles to show us the Gusev- Cancellara gap. Fabien's flown, and is off the cobbles now.. and back on. Hoste jumps from the chase group!
  • Boonen can't win this unless they all come together for a sprint, because he's having trouble following. Hoste has Van Petegem with him, 10 seconds back of Cancellara. None of the Elite Eight are done just yet, with 12.8km to go.
  • Boonen, Ballan and Flecha have been aced out, and it's Van Petegem and the Disco boys left to chase Cancellara. They're working together, so Cancellara will need incredible strength to hold them off. But he's a time triallist first and foremost (before today anyway), and hge's got 32 seconds.
  • And Boonen gets stopped for a train!!! The first chasers lost momentum when the gate came down but got through, while Boonen, Ballan and Flecha had to wait for the train to pass!! I'm almost out of exclamation points. Cancellara has 40 seconds, two cobble sections to go.
  • Seven KM to go and Cancellara has 45 seconds. He looks like a winner today, barring incredibly bad luck. Hoste will be battling Van Petegem for the double-second. Brian pronounces Cancellara the winner, a very clever reverse jinx attempt.
  • Cancellara was 8th last year, 4th the year before, and targeting today for the win. Gusev attacks, trying to shake Van Petegem, who Brian thinks is getting pissed. They've got 30 seconds on the Boonen group with 3km left. Gotta give Gusev and Hoste the credit for trying something, with a superior sprinter.
  • Cancellara under the red kite, rolling to victory. The Velodrome looms, and he's IN!
  • It's "a lap of honor" for Cancellara, and he starts to celebrate in turn 3. Brilliant ride!!! He wins...
  • A scrum breaks out around Cancellara. The chasers are in the 'drome. Gusev leads first. Van P accelerates, Gusev cracks, Hoste comes around for second! He's done the historic Flanders-Roubaix double-second! Boonen pumps for fifth... Cancellara can't seem to dismount, he's exhausted. An excellent rider who's given his all. Team CSC hasn't won enough classics to remember how to staff the finish area, as the media won't let Cancellara be.

That's it from Roubaix/Seattle, thanks for joining us for this incredible race. Incredible.