Race winner: Tom Boonen (Omega-Pharma QuickStep) soloed away from the lead group with 54 km to go and celebrated alone in the finishing velodrome as he tied the record with his 4th Paris-Roubaix title and finished off the greatest cobbled classic season of all-time. Boonen also won Ronde van Vlaanderen (Tour of Flanders) last week and the prep races at E3 Harelbake and Gent-Wevelgem to sweep the season. In addition, his team won both of the short Belgian cobbled stage races. Total domination.
Other podium finishers: Sebastian Turgot (Europcar) got the best result of his career, winning a five-man sprint for second in a photo finish. In third was Alessandro Ballan (BMC) for the second straight week after finishing 3rd last week in Flanders.
Story of the day (non-winner category): Boonen's attack came from 54 km out with teammate Nikki Terpstra. What the heck was everyone else doing? On twitter during the race I along with everyone else questioned going on the attack from that far out (we were wrong), but I also questioned the wisdom of allowing the race favorite to get a gap no matter how far away (I was right). The peloton just fell asleep in letting Boonen get away and then over every cobbled section he pulled further away. Bad tactical race by pretty much everyone.
US tv coverage review: For the second straight week, NBC Sports Network offered live coverage. This week, much better, once they came on the air. The commercial issues I brought up last week were not issues and the broadcast as a whole was tighter and better than it was in Flanders last week. That said, there were still problems, one of which was in the network's control and one of which wasn't. The main problem was that the winning move by Boonen was missed as was the pivotal Arenberg Trench because the coverage hadn't started yet. That will be rectified by a 3-hour replay tonight, but it still needs to be shown. Part of that though is that the race was really fast this year. When I say fast I mean second fastest ever and in most years the distance from where Boonen attacked would have been covered.
Other odds and ends: There was a 12 man breakaway entering the Arenberg Trench that dropped to 8 immediately because of a crash... Speaking of crashes, there weren't many this year like in previous years, but there were still a lot of punctures and mechanical issues. Among those felled by either crashes, mechanicals or punctures were Sylvain Chavanel (OPQS), Pippo Pozatto (Farnese Vini) and Thor Hushovd (BMC), all of whom would have liked their chances (though Chavanel wasn't going to be winning considering his teammate Boonen's form) had they made the finishing group... Defending champion Johann Van Summeran (Garmin-Barracuda) finished 9th place in a spirited defense of his title. He showed that his surprise win last season wasn't a fluke in his first go as a team leader.
What's next: The Ardennes beckon and with it comes a different kind of rider to threaten. Gone will be the hardmen that dominate on the cobblestones and in come the climby types with hillier races and no more cobblestones. The next couple of weeks bring the Amstel Gold, Fleche Wallone and then the fourth monument of the season: Liege-Bastogne-Liege. Last year, Philippe Gilbert (BMC) swept the Ardennes, but he has not been in good form at all this season so far. Beyond him, we will see our first appearance of the season of the Schleck brothers (Radio Shack-Nissan-Trek) though the favorite might be Joaquim Rodriguez. Rodriguez won two stages as the Vuelta a Pais Vasco last week and a stage at Tirreno-Adriatico and is a threat anywhere there is a steep hill near the finish..
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