Apr 14, 2007
L’Enfer Du Nord Awaits
FRANCOIS LO PRESTI/AFP/Getty Images
Paris Roubaix awaits the tough men. My bet is for a Cancellara repeat this year. Cancellara has the form as he tried to get the action going at Flanders last weekend.
Others to watch for would be a very much on form Alessandro Ballan. He is on a hot streak after winning Flanders last week. He hung tough with Boonen last year and looks like he has the winning formula set. Ballan will be danergous but will be tough to mark since there are so man y favorites this year.
Tom Boonen does not have that extra gear this year. He was spoked at Flanders after a crash, but he did win several smaller races this year. Can Boonen make up for his lack of big results?
Magnus Backstedt is back and supposedly in great form, can he jump into racing and perform well enough to win? Or can it be Liquigas teammate Pippo Pozzatto? He has no pressure really and has already won Het Volk early in the season. He could be an outside contender. If he is near the front at the end, do not bet against the very cagey Italian.
Leif Hoste is probably seeking revenge for is last meter loss. Hoste did everything right to try and win, but Ballan simply did not give up after Hoste went by in the sprint. Can he have a cool enough head to do something special at Paris-Roubaix. He has the form.
So there is the short list of favorites for Paris Roubaix. There are a few others, but to me Cancellara’s performance last year where he simply road away from everyone to get the win was amazing. Cancellara surprised everyone with that move last year. The problem was not so much that the attack was a surprise, but that no one could stay with the TT specialist. It seems like Cancellara has the same form, and barring a flat or mechanical, he could possibly duplicate that performance.