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Bike Ping

At various junctures, the cause seemed lost, and even on the final lap of the velodrome, it briefly appeared as though the Belgian had squandered his chance. This time, however, Van Avermaet was not to be denied, as he saw off Zdenek Stybar (Quick-Step Floors) and Sebastian Langeveld (Cannondale-Drapac) in the finishing sprint to shake off the very last vestiges of his nearly-man tag.

Tom Boonen (Quick-Step Floors), riding in his final race as a professional, was prominent throughout and part of the key selection that formed after Mons-en-Pévéle, but he was caught on the wrong side when the leading group split with 30 kilometres remaining. Despite showing flashes of his force of old on the Carrefour de l'Arbre, where he was willed on by an expectant public, he was unable to close the gap. He finished the race in the large chasing group that came home 12 seconds down on Van Avermaet, and ends his career level with Roger De Vlaeminck on four Paris-Roubaix victories. - VeloNews

VIDEO RECAP HERE (3minutes)

Great race. BMC and Van Avermaet were deserving. Langeveld gave his all, too. It would have been a shame if Stybar, who sucked wheel in the last 15K, would have nipped Van Avermaet in the velodrome.

Boonen? A great champion, who could have used some help and some luck on this day. It was not to be, but he should sleep well knowing that he retired in style.

Oldplayer

Thanks Bay for the summary.

Lived in Belgium for 5 years so got to see many of these classics up close and live.

Also to the Belgians these races are like NFL games... They gather at each others homes to watch the live feeds and cheer on their favorites.

They even enjoyed this American having a favorite of two amongst the riders.....