Tom Boonen rides his latest Paris-Roubaix today to take his fifth victory in the cobblestone classic. Record holder with Roger De Vlaeminck, the Belgian champion raced another year before hanging up his bike to cradle this dream after seeing the five fives fade in the last edition, the absolute protagonist mocked at the finish line by an outsider, the Australian Mathew Hayman . He didn't want to leave her ride. Here he is again today on the hard stones of the North to challenge everyone, from Peter Sagan to Greg Van Avermaet, even if Boonen has now entered the Roubaix legend by right at the end of a career as absolute ruler of the pavé classics-monument with the four victories in Roubaix (2005, 2008, 2009 and 2012) and three triumphs in the Tour of Flanders (2005, 2006 and 2012).
Roubaix lives off its heroes. Leaving the scene in 2016 Fabian Cancellara, the Roubaix Velodrome will bid farewell to another great interpreter of his. That he does it as a winner by lifting for the fifth time the stone trophy that has replaced the traditional cup since 1977 - De Vlaeminck's fourth victory - is the wish of those who love great cycling, regardless of the flag supporter. But it won't be easy for Boonen because the competition is fierce. Sagan and Van Avermaet also try to win it for the first time in some time, who are today Boonen's most formidable opponents. But also watch out for John Degenkolb, who triumphed two years ago, and for Alexander Kristoff who hasn't achieved a great goal for a long time after the extraordinary Sanremo-Flanders double in 2015. And in the hell of pavé, with its alleys where each stone represents a pitfall, bad luck also plays a decisive role. Boonen also knows something about it, knocked out by a mechanical accident last Sunday while chasing the dream of a fourth victory in the Ronde, a classic-monument conquered by a superb Philippe Gilbert, who once again gave up on Roubaix aiming for Liège-Bastogne- Liège.
