Paris-Roubaix: The Torch is Passed

Paris-Roubaix: The Torch is Passed from Cancellara and Boonen

Paris-Roubaix supplied drama as the race always does every year. This year John Degenkolb of Giant-Alpecin won Paris-Roubaix for the first time sprinting away from six other cyclists who entered the Roubaix velodrome with him. The German rider previously won at Milano-Sanremo earlier this year and is only the third rider to win both in the same year. Two of the big pre-race favorites Fabian Cancellara, of Trek Factory Racing, and Tom Boonen, of the Etixx-Quick Step team, who have won this race seven times in the last ten years, were out due to injuries, so the race was wide open this year. Bradley Wiggins, who was in his last race for Team Sky, came in 19th on Sunday. He showed occasional flashes of speed but came up short of his goal of winning Paris-Roubaix in his final race before preparing for the Rio Olympics in 2016. The race also featured a near calamity, when a French TGV train passed through the route and several riders went around the crossing gate in front of the oncoming train. Next year, with Cancellara and Boonen returning to the Spring Classics, we will see if the torch has passed to the younger riders, as some are whispering now.