Greg Van Avermaet wins Paris-Roubaix

BMC Racing's in form cycling star fought back after a crash to win his first Monument

Greg out sprinted companions Zdenek Stybar and Sebastian Langeveld on the hallowed boards of the Roubaix Velodrome after Gianni Moscon and Arnaud Demare caught them just before the line.

It was a beautiful day for the 115th edition of the Hell of the North, temperature reaching 20C / 70F.

The day before, over three thousand cycling enthusiasts rode the Paris Roubaix Challenge themselves. Their reward, to cheer on the Pro's all over the 29 sectors towards Roubaix on the French / Belgian border.

From the gun in Compiegne the pace was furious as dozens of riders tried to get away in a break. It was so fast that the Peloton has raced over 100km in the first 2 hours.

Mickael Delage (FDJ), Jelle Wallays (Lotto-Soudal) and Yannick Martinez (Delko Marseille Provence KTM) were the first to create any real break with a lead of around a minute. They hit the first sector of pave, sector 29, just ahead of the Peloton.

On sector 28 there was an almightly crash. One rider went down as the panicked stricken peloton careered into the riders that had already gone down. Oliver Naesen was in the crash, but managed to fight his way back into the bunch.

Otherl riders suffered crashes and punctures including Ian Stannard (Team Sky), Iljo Keisse (Quick-Step Floors) and Alexander Kristoff (Katusha-Alpecin). All of them had to fight their way back to the peloton.

Greg Van Avermaet was seen with an allen key doing up his stem before he crashed. It looks as if the cobbles were shaking his bike to pieces - quite literally. He was seriously in a panic when he went down, but was up and running quickly, but had lost over a minute to the peloton containing all the favorites.

When van Avermaet went down, Tom Boonen put the hammer down hopefully trying to leave one of his main rivals behind.

It took van Avermaet a huge fight to get back into the peloton after the Arenberg Trench which didn't see it's usual carnage, mainly due to the good weather.

Around the 70 kilometer mark Peter Sagan (Bora-hansgrohe) made a move with his teammate Maciej Bodnar and managed to position himself at the front of the race along with Jasper Stuyven (Trek-Segafredo) and Daniel Oss (BMC). But the world champion punctured after which both he and his teammate were caught by the peloton.

The duo rode on together until 45 kilometers from the finish. Three riders Jurgen Roelands (Lotto-Soudal), Dimitri Claeys (Cofidis) and Gianni Moscon (Team Sky) jumped from the main bunch to join them at the front.

Tom Boonen (Quick-Step Floors) chased the move down with, Jens Keukeleire (Orica-Scott), Sebastian Langeveld, van Baarle (Cannondale-Drapac), Sagan, van Avermaet and John Degenkolb (Trek-Segafredo).

Soon after that BMC racing's Oss showed that he still had the legs to escape and went away solo getting a gap of more than 30 seconds. Behind him the peloton split and Van Avermaet, Stybar, Langeveld, Roelandts, Stuyven and Moscon went on the chase.

He was eventually caught. After the last cobbled section of Carrefour de l’Arbre only Langeveld, Van Avermaet and Stybar remained.

The there riders entered the velodrome and slowed down only to be caught by Moscon and Stuyven. Moscon was the first to accelerate, followed by Stybar.

Stybar had a good advantage, incredibly Van Avermaet still had some matches to burn, making a last big sprint effort, he came round Stybar just before the finish line.

The first monument for the Olympic gold medalist, who has already won Gent-Wevelgem, E3 Harelbeke and Omloop Het Nieuwsblad classics this season.

It was the fastest Paris Roubaix ever, at an average speed of 45 kph.

2017 Paris Roubaix Top 30

1 Greg Van Avermaet (Bel) BMC Racing Team 5:41:07 
2 Zdenek Stybar (Cze) Quick-Step Floors   
3 Sebastian Langeveld (Ned) Cannondale-Drapac   
4 Jasper Stuyven (Bel) Trek-Segafredo   
5 Gianni Moscon (Ita) Team Sky   
6 Arnaud Demare (Fra) FDJ 0:00:12 
7 André Greipel (Ger) Lotto Soudal   
8 Edward Theuns (Bel) Trek-Segafredo   
9 Adrien Petit (Fra) Direct Energie   
10 John Degenkolb (Ger) Trek-Segafredo   
11 Mathew Hayman (Aus) Orica-Scott   
12 Florian Senechal (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits   
13 Tom Boonen (Bel) Quick-Step Floors   
14 Yoann Offredo (Fra) Wanty - Groupe Gobert   
15 Laurens De Vreese (Bel) Astana Pro Team   
16 Marcus Burghardt (Ger) Bora-Hansgrohe   
17 Piet Allegaert (Bel) Sport Vlaanderen - Baloise   
18 Nikolas Maes (Bel) Lotto Soudal   
19 Sylvain Chavanel (Fra) Direct Energie   
20 Dylan Van Baarle (Ned) Cannondale-Drapac   
21 Daniel Oss (Ita) BMC Racing Team   
22 Jurgen Roelandts (Bel) Lotto Soudal 0:00:20 
23 Jelle Wallays (Bel) Lotto Soudal 0:00:26 
24 Marcel Sieberg (Ger) Lotto Soudal 0:00:36 
25 Ramon Sinkeldam (Ned) Team Sunweb 0:02:24 
26 Marco Marcato (Ita) Team UAE Emirates   
27 Nils Politt (Ger) Katusha-Alpecin   
28 Jonas Van Genechten (Bel) Cofidis, Solutions Credits   
29 Koen De Kort (Ned) Trek-Segafredo   
30 Bert Van Lerberghe (Bel) Sport Vlaanderen - Baloise

Bad Crash at Paris Roubaix

2017 Paris Roubaix Highlights

Watch the Last 100 Kilometres of the 2017 Paris Roubaix

2017 Paris Roubaix Live Stream Replay

17:27 CET: 2017 Paris Roubaix Official Top 10 Results

17:25 CET: Join us next weekend for the Amstel Gold Race! We hope you enjoyed our coverage!

Greg Van Avermaet lifts the cobblestone into the air

17:20 CET: Greg Van Avermaet, 2017 Paris Roubaix winner!

17:18 CET: This was fastest Paris Roubaix in history, just confirmed. 45 kph!

17:15 CET: Van Avermaet - I'm glad to get my first monument! It was a hard race, especially after crashing.

17:12 CET: Greg Van Avermaet (BMC) wins Paris-Roubaix ahead of Zdenek Stybar (Quick-Step Floors).  Sebastien Langeveld (Cannondale-Drapac) takes third ahead of Moscon and Stuyven. 

#ParisRoubaix LIVE: Greg Van Avermaet, BMC Racing, won the final Sprint. Watch here https://t.co/CB7WD8tL3P pic.twitter.com/fWA7ADrOUc

— GranFondoGuide (@GranFondoGuide) April 9, 2017

17:09 CET; Greg Van Avermaet, BMC Racing, won the final Sprint

17:08 CET: We LOVE Roubaix! What a Race!

17:05 CET: Greg Van Avermaet wins 2017 Paris Roubaix!

17:03 CET: Avermaet, Stybar or Langeveld have entered the Velodrome. 1.5 laps of the Velodrome

17:01 CET; Place your bets please, Avermaet, Stybar or Langeveld?

16:58 CET: 3 kms to go. Who is going to win the Sprint in the Velodrome?

16:57 CET: 5km to go. Can Van Avermaet win this?

16:55 CET: The winner will come from Van Avermaet, Stybar or Langeveld

16:50 CET: Van Avermaet, Stybar or Langeveld? 9 kms to go!

15:50 CET: The Boonen group swells to 15 or so riders, but they are 46 seconds down. There will be no victorious farewell for Boonen..

16:47 CET; Stybar, Van Avermaet and Langeveld are leading 30 secs. 2 cobble sectors to go. 13 kms to go.

16:44 CET: Sagan is losing ground on Van Avermaet group. 30 secs

16:42 CET: In the chasing group, Boonen accelerates with Degenkolb on his wheel. He is 31 seconds behind the leaders...

16:38 CET: Six riders in front: Van Avermaet, Stybar, Langeveld, Moscon, Stuyven and Roelandts. 18 kms to go.

Live video is back, please click here to refresh and press play. Thank you.

16:13 CET: Technical fault with video. Back soon, live text upates below. Thank you.

15:07 CET: Live video has technical fault. We'll gte it back as soon as we can. Thank you!

16:00 CET: 5 riders in the lead Claeys, Moscon, Roelandts, Oss and Stuyven

15:33 CET: Pre-race favorite Arnaud Demare attacked but is brought back by Martin and Boonen

15:26 CET: Boonen, Sagan, Degenkolb on the front

15:21 CET: Sagan has a puncture!

15:18 CET: Looks like Sagan has a puncture?

15:17 CET: Stuyen, Sagan, Bodnar and Oss have a good gap

15:13 CET: Peter Sagan has ATTACKED. 77 kms to go.

15:12 CET: Trek-Segafredo are setting the pace, Boonen needs to pull this back!

15:09 CET; Greg Van Avermaet burnt some matches there

15:00 CET; Greg Van Avermaet is nearly back in the Peloton! Phew!

14:53 CET; Greg Van Avermaet is 29 seconds behind the peloton. 91 km to go

14:50 CET: Peter Sagan is on the front with Trentin

14:37 CET: Here comes the Arenberg Trench!

14:37 CET: Here comes the Arenberg Trench!

Please click here to refresh the video and press play, thank you.

15:40 CET: Boonen ATTACKS as Van Avermaet CRASHES!

14:38 CET: Van Avermaet HAS CRASHED!!!!

14:33 CET: Niki Terpstra has reportedly abandoned the race. 

15:31 CET: Greg Van Avermaet is back in the bunch after his stem worked loose

15:30 CET: Matt Hayman and Ian Stannard are back in the bunch

14:20 CET: Matt Hayman has punctured, he's chasing back on

14:12 CET: 4 sectors and the Peloton hits the Arenberg with 90km to go!

14:03 CET: It's carnage out there, Hell has started

13:48 CET: Oliver Naesen is FIGHTING to get back

13:47 CET: Tony Martin from Katusha is attacking!

13:44 CET: Another CRASH!

Here is a video of the first massive crash on sector 28 #ParisRoubaix pic.twitter.com/DWqNmu2HxE

— GranFondoGuide (@GranFondoGuide) April 9, 2017

13:37 CET: All the favorites have come to the front, Sagan, Boonen, Van Avermaet, Greipel

13:33 CET: Oliver Naesen was in the crash but is back in the bunch. Rumours are Luke Rowe was involved.

13:31 CET: Crash!

13:30: Sector 28, Viesly to Quievy, 1.8 km

13:25 CET: 3 riders have a 47s lead, Wallays, Martinez and Delage. 1km to sector 28.

13:20 It's cobble time! sector 29 has arrived at Troisville.

Peloton all together. 8km until the first cobbled section. This is about to get VERY interesting! 

12:45 CET: 28km until the cobbles strike at Troisvilles

The 5 leaders are Maxime Daniel, Benjamin Giraud, Hugo Hofstetter, Michael Mørkøv and Mads Schmidt. The gap is 21s

12:27 CET: Over 50 kph for the first hour of racing 

12;25 CET: Matt Hayman, last years winner, chilling at the back, getting drinks

12;18 CET: This is going to be a long day. Attacks, attacks attacks

12:10 CE: Almost 20 miles in and we have still to see a break establish itself

11:47 CET: Nine riders have established a gap on the Peloton

11:42 CET: 8 riders clear. Huge attacks off the front of the Peloton

11:34 CET: Furiously fast, riders trying to get in the break!

11:26 CET: The fireworks have just begun.Immediate flurry of attacks from the gun. 255 kms to go!

First 97 kms are on normal roads before they hit the cobbles. Expect to see a breakaway form, early on in the race.

11:18 CET: And they are off for the 115th Hell of the North!

11:11 CET: Riders are ready to go. 6 hours in the saddle!

11:05 CET: The riders have lined up ready to start in 5 mins

There are 29 sectors of pave today. They begin after 95 kilometres: 

Secteur 29: Troisvilles à Inchy (2.2km) ***
Secteur 28: Viesly à Quiévy (1.8km) ***
Secteur 27: Quiévy à Saint Python (3.7km) ****
Secteur 26: Viesly à Biastre (3km) ***
Secteur 25: Biastre à Solesmes (0.8km) **
Secteur 24: Vertain à Saint-Martin-sur-Ecaillon (2.3km) ***
Secteur 23: Verchain-Maugré à Quérénaing (1.6km) ***
Secteur 22: Quérénaing à Maing (2.5km) ***
Secteur 21: Maing à Monchaux-sur-Ecaillon (1.6km) ***
Secteur 20: Haveluy à Wallers (2.5km) ****
Secteur 19: Trouée d'Arenberg (2.4km) *****
Secteur 18: Wallers à Hélesmes (1.6km) ***
Secteur 17: Hornaing à Wandignies (3.7km) ****
Secteur 16: Warlaing à Brillion (2.4km) ***
Secteur 15: Tilloy à Sars-et-Rosières (2.4km) ****
Secteur 14: Beuvry-la-Forêt à Orchies (1.4km) ***
Secteur 13: Orchies (1.7km) ***
Secteur 12: Auchy-lez-Orchies à Bersée (2.7km) ****
Secteur 11: Mons-en-Pévèle (3km) *****
Secteur 10: Mérignies à Avelin (0.7km) **
Secteur 9: Pont-Thibault à Ennevelin (1.4km) ***
Secteur 8: Templeuve (0.5km) **
Secteur 7: Cysoing à Bourghelles (1.3km) ***
Secteur 6: Bourghelles à Wannehain (1.1km) ***
Secteur 5: Camphin-en-Pévèle (1.8km) ****
Secteur 4: Carrefour de l'Arbre (2.1km) *****
Secteur 3: Grusson (1.1km) **
Secteur 2: Willems à Hem (1.4km) ***
Secteur 1: Roubaix (0.3 km) *

10:51 CET: Jasha Sutterlin has gone for EXTRA padding

10:44 257 kms later on ...

10:39 CET: It's set to be a very sunny day, around 21C, 70F with a small tailwind. The start has been held back by 15 minutes so the peloton doesn't reach the level crossing and get delayed. The Peloton rolls out at 11.10 CET

10:33 CET: People arriving at Carrefour de l'Arbre sector 4 

10:17 CET: Not long now, just under an hour until the start at 11:15 CET

10:10 CET: Over 3 thousand cycling enthusiasts rode the Paris Roubaix Challenge yesterday. The full 257 km course. Chapeau! Their reward? Watch the Pro's battle it out today!

09:52 CET: The Arenberg - one of the toughest sectors after 100 miles of racing. 19 of 29 sectors.

Our Favourites for the 2017 Paris-Roubaix

***** John Degenkolb, Tom Boonen, Greg Van Avermaet, Arnaud Démare
**** Mathew Hayman, Peter Sagan, Zdenek Stybar, Niki Terpstra, Oliver Naesen
*** Alexander Kristoff, Ian Stannard, Luke Rowe 

?????Compiègne > Roubaix ?? - 257 km ? ??
BRING IT ON! #ParisRoubaix pic.twitter.com/5NeqQV205i

— Paris-Roubaix (@Paris_Roubaix) April 9, 2017

8:23 CET: LIVE VIDEO above starts in just over an hour at 11:00 CET. We will bring all the action from the 115th edition of the Hell of the North!

09:18 CET: A delay of 10 mins expected due to tailwind this morning, the organizers don't want the riders to reach the level crossings ahead of schedule and be delayed.

Good morning! Hot weather predicted today, 12C at the start going to up 20C this afternoon.

Sep Vanmarcke out with broken finger. Taylor Phinny out with concussion from his crash in Flanders and Mark Cavendish has a bad ankle.

26 sections of Pave with difficulty ratings have been released ahead of Sunday. Brutal!

SECTION	KILOMETRES	PLACE	LENGTH	RATING
29	97	Troisvilles to Inchy	2.2
28	103.5	Viesly to Quiévy	1.8
27	106	Quiévy to Saint-Python	3.7
26	112.5	Viesly to Briastre	3
25	116	Briastre à Solesmes	0.8
24	124.5	Vertain to Saint-Martin-sur-Écaillon	2.3
23	134.5	Verchain-Maugré to Quérénaing	1.6
22	137.5	Quérénaing to Maing	2.5
21	140.5	Maing to Monchaux-sur-Écaillon	1.6
20	153.5	Haveluy to Wallers	2.5
19	161.5	Trouée d'Arenberg	2.4
18	168	Wallers to Hélesmes	1.6
17	174.5	Hornaing to Wandignies	3.7
16	182	Warlaing to Brillon	2.4
15	185.5	Tilloy to Sars-et-Rosières	2.4
14	192	Beuvry-la-Forêt to Orchies	1.4
13	197	Orchies	1.7
12	203	Auchy-lez-Orchies to Bersée	2.7
11	208.5	Mons-en-Pévèle	3
10	214.5	Mérignies to Avelin	0.7
9	218	Pont-Thibaut to Ennevelin	1.4
8	224	Templeuve (Moulin-de-Vertain)	0.5
7	230.5	Cysoing to Bourghelles	1.3
6	233	Bourghelles to Wannehain	1.1
5	237.5	Camphin-en-Pévèle	1.8
4	240	Carrefour de l’Arbre	2.1
3	242.5	Gruson	1.1
2	249	Willems to Hem	1.4
1	256	Roubaix (Espace Crupelandt)	0.3
			TOTAL   55 km

On Sunday the 9th of April, 2017 the bunch sets off for the 115th edition of Paris-Roubaix, the third of five Monuments on the cycling calendar.

Also known as the ‘Hell of the North’, Paris-Roubaix is one of the oldest and one of the most difficult one-day races with riders having to endure a daunting gauntlet of cobbled sectors before the finish in the Roubaix Velodrome. A perfect blend of positioning, power and tactical nous are required if a rider is to lift the famous cobble-stone trophy awarded to the victor, not too mention a large slice of luck. Given the conditions, mechanical issues are unavoidable in Roubaix, the timing of which can be the difference between winning and losing.

Mathew Hayman is title holder. In 2016, he out powered Tom Boonen, Ian Stannard and Sep Vanmarcke on the line.