Bak's Paris-Roubaix fifth place could lead to Tour de France ride

Lars Bak finished fifth in Paris-Roubaix, after having been part of the break which produced winner Johan Van Summeren. His aggressive performance helped the Dane's chances of riding the Tour de France for HTC-Highroad this summer.

"I'm happy that Lars got this top ten in Paris-Roubaix,” HTC-Highroad directeur sportif Brian Holm told spn.dk. “It is a fantastic achievement and he was actually really, really close to the podium. And he could also possibly have won.”

Holm could not guarantee the 31-year-old a place on the Tour squad, but his impressive performance on Sunday was surely a recommendation.

“We must also say that he didn't hurt his chances with the Tour situation with the fifth place,” Holm said. “We must say that.”

Bak joined HTC in 2010 after five years with Team CSC/Saxo Bank. He is a four-time Danish national time trial champion and so could play a key role in the team time trial at the Tour de France and in Mark Cavendish's lead-out train.