Paris - Roubaix 254 km John Degenkolb (Giant-Alpecin) rode a near-perfect race to take the 2015 edition of Paris-Roubaix in a sprint finish ahead of Zdeněk Štybar (Etixx-QuickStep) and Greg Van Avermaet (BMC Racing). The German rider latched onto a dangerous move initiated by Van Avermaet and Yves Lampaert (Etixx-QuickStep), and even after the lead group swelled to seven riders he had more than enough to take his second Monument of the season after winning Milan-San Remo last month. “This is the race I’ve always dreamt of winning,” Degenkolb said before hugging his teammates at the finish. In a race that ebbed and flowed with different dynamics and groups coming into play with each sector of cobbles, Degenkolb stood out, not just for his expected strong finish – he was second on the velodrome last year – but for his aggression and precision at key points in the race. When Van Avermaet and Lampaert created a small buffer on the elite contenders inside the final 12 kilometres Degenkolb’s teammate Bert De Backer jumped clear. It created an opportunity for Degenkolb to follow just moments later and he quickly linked up with his teammate before forging clear and joining Van Avermaet and Lampaert. When the Etixx rider understandably refused to work Degenkolb didn't to panic. He and Van Avermaet continued to share the work as a move that included Stybar, Lars Boom and Jens Keukeleire joined up to form the final winning break inside the final few kilometres. Coming into the velodrome it was Etixx who hit the front with Stybar in second wheel and Degenkolb riding in his slipstream. When the Milan-San Remo winner opened his sprint on the final banking there was little challenge from the rest of the break. Stybar hung on for second with Van Avermaet claimed yet another podium in a spring Monument. “This is unbelievable. I can’t believe it, right now. I’ve had to work very hard for it and my team was there the whole day to hold the situation under control, until I could start my race. We knew that it was going to be hard and that a big group could go to the finish. I was in a situation that I had to go, otherwise I’d be in the same situation as last year [when he finished second behind lone winner Terpstra, ed.]. I had to invest something and I was not afraid to fail. That was the key. “When you are probably the fastest guy, nobody wants to work with you and bring you to the finish. That’s why I decided to go by myself. I think it was the right decision and at the right moment. It was really, really hard but I’m just so happy and proud.” 1 John Degenkolb (Ger) Team Giant-Alpecin 5:49:51 2 Zdenek Stybar (Cze) Etixx - Quick-Step s.t. 3 Greg Van Avermaet (Bel) BMC Racing Team s.t. 4 Lars Boom (Ned) Astana Pro Team s.t. 5 Martin Elmiger (Swi) IAM Cycling s.t. 6 Jens Keukeleire (Bel) Orica GreenEdge s.t. 7 Yves Lampaert (Bel) Etixx - Quick-Step 0:00:07 8 Luke Rowe (GBr) Team Sky 0:00:28 9 Jens Debusschere (Bel) Lotto Soudal 0:00:29 10 Alexander Kristoff (Nor) Team Katusha 0:00:31

• published: 12 Apr 2015
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