2006 Paris–Roubaix
The route for the 2006 Paris-Roubaix
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| Race details | |||||||||||||
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| Dates | April 9 | ||||||||||||
| Stages | 1 | ||||||||||||
| Distance | 259 km (160.9 mi) | ||||||||||||
| Winning time | 6h 07' 54" | ||||||||||||
| Results | |||||||||||||
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| Winner |
 Fabian Cancellara (SUI)
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(Team CSC) | |
| Second |
 Tom Boonen (BEL)
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(Quick-Step–Innergetic) | |
| Third |
 Alessandro Ballan (ITA)
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(Lampre–Fondital) |
The 2006 Paris–Roubaix was the 104th running of the Paris–Roubaix single-day cycling race, often known as the Hell of the North. It was held on 9 April 2006 over a distance of 259 kilometres (160.9 miles). Fabian Cancellara became the second road racing cyclist from Switzerland to win the race. This edition was run under clear skies and relatively good weather, meaning that the difficult of this edition was the dust. The main favourite for the race was Tom Boonen, winner of the 2005 Paris–Roubaix and the 2006 Tour of Flanders.
As usual, the selection of favourites was done at the Forest of Arenberg after Cancellara and Tom Boonen increased the pace. The selection included 17 riders, consisting of:
Most of the riders began to quicken the pace after they realized that Tom Boonen, previous year winner and main favourite, had no teammates in the leading group. A persecution began between the leading group and a peloton led by five Quick-Step–Innergetic riders, including Filippo Pozzato and Servais Knaven, trying to assist Tom Boonen. With 80 kilometers to go and after almost 20 kilometers of struggling, Quick-Step–Innergetic gave up. In the leading group Joost Posthuma, Enrico Franzoi, Nicolas Portal and Stephan Schreck lost contact with the leading group although Portal would eventually rejoin the lead.
With 45 kilometres to go, while going through Mons-en-Pévèle cobblestone section, George Hincapie's steerer tube broke and he injured his collarbone, forcing him to retire from the race. Soon after Tom Boonen and Juan Antonio Flecha made a series of accelerations that selected the lead group to only eight riders: Alessandro Ballan, Tom Boonen, Fabian Cancellara, Bernhard Eisel, Juan Antonio Flecha, Vladimir Gusev, Leif Hoste and Peter Van Petegem. Vladimir Gusev fell a short time later in a fall that also brought down the Italian Alessandro Ballan with 25 kilometres to go, although they could make it back to the lead.
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Wikipedia