FABIAN CANCELLARA

Fabian Cancellara won Paris-Roubaix yesterday for the third time, to cap a great Spring Classics campaign, which included wins in E3 Harelbeke and the Tour of Flanders, and third in Milan-San Remo.  

He wasn't quite as dominant as the last time he did the Tour/Roubaix spring double, back in 2010, but it was still a fantastic performance. Since that time, he has been a marked man in the classics, with all the other teams ganging up on him. In 2011 the favourites watched each other, letting second tier names win the two races. In 2012, Cancellara looked by far the strongest, but crashed in the feed zone during the Ronde, breaking his collar bone in four places and putting him out for the rest of the first half of the season. In his absence, his great rival Tom Boonen won the double for the second time, equalling the record number of wins in each race (three in the Tour, four in Paris-Roubaix).

This season the roles have been reversed. Boonen nearly lost an arm, after a cut in his elbow turned sceptic. Since then, he has had a series of crashes, that have disrupted his preparation. A further crash after just 19 km in the Ronde finally wrecked his spring campaign, and left Cancellara as the overwhelming favourite for the two Monuments.

Cancellara still had to deliver though, and without a strong team to help him. A normal professional cycle race is around 200km, but the Monuments are 250-260 km, and that extra distance really counts at the end. Furthermore, the cobblestones in both races play a crucial role, since it becomes much more difficult to slipstream the rider in front of you when your wheel is bouncing around all over the place. Cancellara's strength is that he can put on the afterburners and power away from other riders on the cobblestones, even if they are in the world's top ten. It's great to watch.

I am already looking forward to next year's Cancellara-Boonen rivalry, which has overshadowed everybody else for the past 5-6 years. Cancellara has a chance to equal the record number of wins in each race, Boonen to beat them. If they both stay healthy, then it should be a great scrap.

Walter Blotscher