Niki Terpstra, Dutch born in 1984, Tom Boonen's teammate, won, an outsider but certainly not a nobody given the placings obtained in recent years in the most prestigious races: on the Roubaix velodrome he finished with about twenty seconds ahead of a group of about ten riders including all the big names who lined up against each other.
Even Fabian Cancellara, the great favorite of the cobbled classic, ended up being enmeshed in this tactic, preferring to let his all-time rivals, Boonen and Sagan lose above all, rather than try to win his fourth Paris-Roubaix. For his part, Boonen too, rather than damning his soul to look for the historic record of a fifth victory, fearing being mocked at the finish line by Spartacus or Degenkolb - the strongest sprinter in contention after Kristoff's retirement on the pavé of the Arenberg Forest – he preferred to protect the Terpstra reach less than 6 km from Roubaix with the help of Stybar, after the umpteenth empty attack by Sagan. For Omega Pharma Quick Step – a triumph with three men in the top ten – a Roubaix that confirms it as the strongest team in this start of the season (without the contribution of Cavendish still in dry dock!), also if the outcome of the race disappointed the Belgians who dreamed of Boonen's five, who didn't even participate in the sprint for the podium finishing tenth. On the contrary, Cancellara, living up to his reputation as an indomitable fighter, fought until the last pedal stroke for second place with Degenkolb who burned him by a whisker.
The chronicle of Roubaix, which has reviewed a Dutch success that had been missing for 13 years – victory by Servais Knaven, holder also with Raymond Impanis of the attendance record in the classic pavé with 16 participations – could end here, if among the black dust raised by the group and Bradley Wiggins had finally not seen himself again in the leading positions from the cars that followed, determined to be a protagonist again: the English baronet did not win but his ninth place has particular value because it brings back to the cycling chronicles a rider who seemed swallowed up in the total anonymity of the rear.
He was the only rider present at Roubaix to have won a Tour de France, something that hadn't happened since 1994 with Greg Lemond as proof of an increasingly "specialized" cycling. Wiggins wasn't even considered in the pre-bet total. Having raced it and finished it in the leading group was important for his morale also in view of the Giro d'Italia that Wiggo will race after Richie Porte's forfeit at Sky.
