O'Grady becomes first Oz to win the Queen

April 15 ^th 2007 - 17:21

Paris-Roubaix, 105th edition (259.5 kms) _ 187 riders at the start _ Weather: sunny and dry. _ _ {{First break}} _ _ Real start was given at 11:00 to 187 riders. After several unsuccessful attempts, the first major break took place at kilometre 31 when some thirty riders parted company with the main bunch. The leading group finally comprised the 34 following riders: Breschel, O’Grady, Roberts (CSC), Tosatto, Van Impe (Quck Step), Franzoi (Lampre), De Groot (Rabobank), Auger (FDJ), Bert Grabsch, Hammond, Klier (T-Mobile), Steels, Van Avermaet (Predictor Lotto), Valentin (Cofidis), Ralf Grabsch (Milram), Bacquet, Lhotellerie, Goesinnen (Skil Shimano), Putsep (Bouygues Telecom), Bileka (Discovery), Petito, Willems (Liquigas), Portal, Rojas (Caisse d’Epargne), Kopp, Stamsnijder (Gerolsteiner), Dean, Engoulevent (Credit Agricole), Poulhies, Rousseau (AG2R), Irinondo (Eusklatel), Mikhailov (Astana), Wagner and Pollack (Team Wiesenhof). Their lead remained stable at around three minutes and reached four minutes into the first cobbled sector. _ _ {{Grabsch on his own}} _ _ Punctures and mechanical problems had their toll and the break lost some of its members (Portal, Klier, Roberts, Bacquet) as its lead was increasing to a maximum of 5:05 after cobbled sector 25 in the first feeding zone (km 114.5). _ German Ralf Grabsch (Milram) tried his luck in cobbled sector 22 (km 139) and steadily increased his lead to reach the Arenberg trench on his own with a 1:20 lead over his former companions and four minutes over the peloton. Grabsch’s attempt was reined in at kilometre 173. _ In the build up to Arenbeg, the bunch was led by the CSC team-mates of last year’s winner Fabian Cancellara, led by Lars Michaelsen, riding in his very last race. In Arenberg, Tom Boonen was extremely impressive, imposing a hellish pace which scattered the peloton. _ _ {{Three in the lead}} _ _ At first, Tour of Flanders winner Alessandro Ballan and Gent-Wevelgem winner Marcus Burghardt were dropped, but they returned on the flat. After Arenberg, a bunch of 60 men, including all the favourites, took shape and were some two minutes (1:55 at km 184) behind the leading group, which lost more riders (Steels, Dean, Engoulevent). . _ As the bunch reached the new cobbled sector between Beuvry-la-Forêt and Orchies (km 194.5) Van Impe, Kopp and Pollack, sensing that the morning break was losing momentum, broke clear. _ Behind them, their former companions were caught and overtaken by Juan-Antonio Flecha (Rabobank), Lars Michalesen, Bjorn Leukemans (Predictor lotto) and Sébastien Rosseler (Quick Step), who had parted company with the peloton. _ Pollack was dropped by Van Impe and Kopp in cobbled sector 9. _ _ {{Cancellara beaten}} _ _ At the start of cobbled sector 7, Van Impe and Kopp held a 30 seconds lead over eight riders – Flecha, Michalesen, Leukemans, Ralf Grabsch, Petito, Pollack, Franzoi and Breschel, later joined by Hammond, Wesemann and O’Grady – while the favourites group were 1:10 adrift. With 30 kms to go, Boonen raised the tempo, followed by Fabio Baldato (Lampre), Marcus Burghardt (T-Mobile), Leif Hoste (Predictor Lotto), Staf Scheirlinckx (Cofidis), and Stijn Devolder (Discovery Channel). Title holder Cancellara was dropped once and for all. _ Van Impe and Kopp were caught with 25 kms to go by the Flecha group, while Boonen and his companions were one minute behind and out of contention _ _ {{O’Grady goes}} _ _ On the junction, O’Grady attacked on his own and held a 25 seconds lead on sector 5 (km 239.5). With 10 kms to go, the Madison Olympic champion held a 50 seconds lead over a gang of four including Flecha, Leukemans, Petito and Wesemann. A last ditch effort was not enough for Tom Boonen to make up for lost time. _ O’Grady held the chasers at bay and became the first Australian rider to win Paris-Roubaix. Felcha was second and Wesemann third.