108th Paris-Roubaix - Live Ticker Part 1
Nineteen riders in the escape lead the peloton by over
three minutes....
Paris-Roubaix
Sunday 11th April 2010
259km
1300 CET -
Welcome to the Daily Peloton's live coverage of the 2010
Paris-Roubaix.
Race Parcours
Courtesy Paris-Roubaix
Read Giles Belbin's extensive race
preview
Official updated
start list, here.
LIVE TICKER
1400 CET - Good afternoon and welcome to the DailyPeloton's coverage of the
108th Paris-Roubaix. The Saxo Bank lead peloton are chasing a 19 man breakaway
group, who have around a three and a half minute lead.
Upfront, we have: Romain Zingle (Cofidis), Maarten Wynants (Quick Step), Gorik Gardeyn (Vacansoleil),
Mikhail Ignatiev (Katusha), Jeremy Hunt (Cervelo), Sebastian Lang (Omega Pharma-Lotto),
Chris Sutton and Gregory Henderson (Team Sky), Matthew Goss and Adam Hansen
(HTC-Columbia), Rick Flens and Tom Leezer (Rabobank), Yohann Gene (Bbox Bouygues
Telecom), Inaki Isasi (Euskaltel-Euskadi), Mitchell Docker and Roy Curvers
(Skil-Shimano), Kasper Klostergaard (Saxo Bank), Stephane Poulhies and Jimmy
Engoulvent (Saur Sojasun).
1409 CET - The peloton are currently on
Section 21, the Verchain-Maugré - Quérénaing. 117.9km to go.
1415 CET - Quick Step's Stijn Devolder
has already been on the floor twice today. He's trying to rejoin the peloton,
but the pace on which they are passing over the cobbles will not help him.
Luckily, the conditions are dry and the skys are not dark, so we should be
in for a dusty, but not dirty race
Saxo Bank's Matti Breschel and Fabian Cancellara stretch out the peloton on the
Capelle sur Ecaillon cobble section with 113 kilometers to go. Photo © 2010 Fotoreporter
Sirotti
The peloton stretches out to the horizon Photo © 2010 Fotoreporter
Sirotti
1420 CET - 112km to go,
2'34" is the gap.
Unsurprisingly, all the talk at the start today was about a Cancellara -
Boonen rematch. I think that to discount Hushovd, Hoste, Boom or even Breschel
and Devolder (team mates of the two favourites) is premature.
Mikhail Ignatiev leads the break. Photo © 2010 Fotoreporter
Sirotti
1430 CET - 105 km to go, 2'32" is the gap for the leaders. The peloton
is picking up its speed which, due to a headwind leaves the race around 25
minutes behind the predicted schedule.
Stijn Devolder is currently at the back of the peloton, with his mechanic
seeing to a problem on his bike. Looked like a rear mech problem.
1433 CET - Two crashes within a minute. The second involved a sole Garmin
rider, who had a completely ruined wheel - almost as if someone ran over it.
As we approach the feared section 17 Trouée d’Arenberg, the main field looks extremely nervous.
Puncture for Bernhard Eisel (HTC Columbia)
1438 CET - A crash at the rear of the
peloton, Eisel is off the road. Johan Van Summeren (Garmin) is also on the
floor.Four of the Garmin team have come down in this latest fall.
1443 CET - The big favourites for
the race - Hushovd, Hayman, Flecha, Hincapie, Boonen, Cancellara, Boom, Pozzato
- are all at the head of the peloton now.
Saxo Bank-lead group of favourites. Frank Hoj currently pulling for
Cancellara.
1446 CET - 94km to go - the lead is
1'22". The two Rabobank riders leading the escape group as they hit the Trouée
d’Arenberg. As usual, the crowds are lined six or seven deep.
1447 CET - And now the peloton hit the
cobbles. Cancellara leading the peloton - exactly what Boonen did in 2009.
Arguably the hardest 2.4km in this race... Still it is Cancellara leading the
peloton. Boonen still in his wheel, Flecha and Hushovd looking good upfront too.
1448 CET - Still it is Cancellara leading
the peloton. Boonen still in his wheel, Flecha and Hushovd looking good upfront
too.
05:50:53 [Nick] There are two lines forming; one behind Boonen, one behind
Cancellara who is using a bit of the grass verge to ease his passage over this
brutal section.
Tom Boonen takes a pull near the end of the Arenberg. Photo © 2010 Fotoreporter
Sirotti
1450 CET - Our 19 leaders have finished
this section, but have lost ten seconds of their lead. Such is the pace of the
Boonen lead main group.
90 km to go. Both groups are now on tarmac
again, which will be of considerable relief to many a rider. The gap to the
breakaway is now less than a minute, the first time it has dropped below the
sixty second mark for some considerable time.
1455 CET - Our leading 19 have been
whittled down to just 8.The remaining eleven are wedged right in the middle of
the leaders and the peloton.
Stijn Devolder recovers and works to return to the front. Photo © 2010 Fotoreporter
Sirotti
1500 CET - 80 km to go - Goss,
Sutton, Hunt, Wynants, Henderson, Flens, Engoulvent and Klostergaard are our 8
leaders.
Current race situation:
- Goss, Sutton, Hunt, Wynants, Henderson, Flens, Engoulvent and Klostergaard
- Zingle, Gardeyn, Ignatiev, Lang, Hansen, Leezer, Gene, Isasi, Docker, Curvers
and Poulhies.
Saxo Bank lead peloton at 49"
1400 CET - Crash involving Joaquin Rojas
(Caisse d'Epargne) and a Cofidis. Both are both on their bikes; looks like a
deceleration in the pack caused the collision.
1503 CET - Approaching the
Hornaing - Wandignies, a 3.7km section of cobbles, rated at 3 star difficulty. Puncture for
the 'unluckiest rider of Paris-Roubaix 2010' Stijn Devolder.
Our leaders are on the cobbles now; luckily no train was passing by the
crossing which falls immediately before this section... 18" is the gap for our
leaders back to the peloton. The group are all strung out across the road, some
opting to ride in the middle of the cobbles, others trying to find some smoother
road on either side.
Still our eight leaders press on, but their efforts are going to be in vain
one suspects. Matt Goss (Columbia) looks very good at the front of the race.
Speaking of classics, read Chris Graetz's
report on an Australian classic today;
the annual race is up the toughest climb on the continent -
Mount Baw Baw
which was fought under epic conditions in the wind, rain and yes snow today!
1511 CET - Three Saxo Bank riders working
for Cancellara upfront; the leading eight have benefited from the peloton
slowing, and now lead by 48".
1512 CET - Bike change for Fabian
Cancellara; not as quick as one he did in Flanders last week, nevertheless he
minimized any time loss. He's just rejoined the rear of the peloton. Didn't
appear to be a puncture, possibly a wheel being off-true.
515 CET - Approaching
section 15 of pavé,
the Warlaing - Brillon 2.4km long, this section is in good order to begin
but has some sunken sections further down the trail. Sky are trying to force the
pace at the front of the peloton; however one of their riders has gone so hard
others are trying to stay on his wheel.
Our leading eight still have a 32" lead on the remains of the peloton.
1520 CET -The Sky work has stopped, and
the peloton has decreased its pace quite significantly. The leading eight
have been rejoined by their original companions, and have been joined by
Rabobank's Maarten Tjallingii.
Our live
coverage continues in Part 2
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