Image 1 of 70 Thor Hushovd (BMC) (Image credit: Photopress.be) Image 2 of 70 Johan Vansummeren (Garmin-Barracuda) pushes himself on the cobbles (Image credit: Photopress.be) Image 3 of 70 The GreenEdge team (Image credit: Photopress.be) Image 4 of 70 George Hincapie (Team BMC) (Image credit: Photopress.be) Image 5 of 70 Steve Chainel (FDJ) (Image credit: Photopress.be) Image 6 of 70 Marcus Burghardt (BMC) will play a key role in BMC's chances (Image credit: Photopress.be) Image 7 of 70 Single paceline for the BMC team (Image credit: Photopress.be) Image 8 of 70 Johan Vansummeren (Garmin-Barracuda) (Image credit: Photopress.be) Image 9 of 70 Matthew Wilson (GreenEdge) (Image credit: Photopress.be) Image 10 of 70 Johan Vansummeren is the Paris-Roubaix defending champion (Image credit: Photopress.be) Image 11 of 70 Will Taylor Phinney be smiling this much on Sunday? (Image credit: Photopress.be) Image 12 of 70 Sep Vanmarcke grits his teeth in the Arenberg (Image credit: Photopress.be) Image 13 of 70 Stuart O'Grady is the only Australian to ever win Paris-Roubaix (Image credit: Photopress.be) Image 14 of 70 Thor Hushovd and Alessandro Ballan will lead BMC (Image credit: Photopress.be) Image 15 of 70 (Image credit: Photopress.be) Image 16 of 70 Taylor Phinney will be riding his first senior Paris-Roubaix (Image credit: Photopress.be) Image 17 of 70 Tomas Vaitkus (GreenEdge) (Image credit: Photopress.be) Image 18 of 70 GreenEdge prepare for their first Paris-Roubaix (Image credit: Photopress.be) Image 19 of 70 Matteo Tosatto (Saxo Bank) (Image credit: Photopress.be) Image 20 of 70 An FDJ rider rides alone through the Arenberg Forest (Image credit: Photopress.be) Image 21 of 70 Johan Vansummeren (Garmin-Barracuda) leads his team (Image credit: Photopress.be) Image 22 of 70 Former Paris-Roubaix Stuart O'Grady will be one of GreenEdge's captains on Sunday (Image credit: Photopress.be) Image 23 of 70 Saxo Bank also checked out the final 100 kilometers of the course (Image credit: Photopress.be) Image 24 of 70 Manuel Quinziato leads George Hincapie (both BMC) (Image credit: Photopress.be) Image 25 of 70 The BMC team wil lbe QuickStep's main challengers on Sunday (Image credit: Photopress.be) Image 26 of 70 Saxo Bank don't have a race favourite but they'll be hoping to make a strong impression on the race (Image credit: Photopress.be) Image 27 of 70 Quinziato and Hushovd (Image credit: Photopress.be) Image 28 of 70 Taylor Phinney (BMC) will ride his first Paris-Roubaix this weekend (Image credit: Photopress.be) Image 29 of 70 Johan Vansummeren (Garmin-Barracuda) and Sep Vanmarcke (Image credit: Photopress.be) Image 30 of 70 Stuart O'Grady set the pace for his GreenEdge team (Image credit: Photopress.be) Image 31 of 70 Sep Vanmarcke (Garmin-Barracuda) (Image credit: Photopress.be) Image 32 of 70 The Lotto team lack a clear favourite (Image credit: Photopress.be) Image 33 of 70 The BMC riders look for the best line through the cobbles (Image credit: Photopress.be) Image 34 of 70 (Image credit: Photopress.be) Image 35 of 70 Ballan and Phinney (Image credit: Photopress.be) Image 36 of 70 Johan Vansummeren (Garmin-Barracuda) (Image credit: Photopress.be) Image 37 of 70 (Image credit: Photopress.be) Image 38 of 70 The BMC team car follows the riders on their recon (Image credit: Photopress.be) Image 39 of 70 Taylor Phinney leads Alessandro Ballan through the Arenberg (Image credit: Bettini Photo) Image 40 of 70 The cobbles of the Arenberg (Image credit: Bettini Photo) Image 41 of 70 Some last minute road works (Image credit: Bettini Photo) Image 42 of 70 Former World champion Thor Hushovd (BMC) (Image credit: Bettini Photo) Image 43 of 70 Some last minute road works (Image credit: Bettini Photo) Image 44 of 70 The moss between the cobbles causes so many crashes (Image credit: Bettini Photo) Image 45 of 70 Alessandro Ballan (BMC) (Image credit: Bettini Photo) Image 46 of 70 Defending Paris-Roubaix champion Johan Vansummeren (Garmin-Barracuda) (Image credit: Bettini Photo) Image 47 of 70 Johan Vansummeren (Garmin - Barracuda) leads his teammates (Image credit: Bettini Photo) Image 48 of 70 Sep Vanmarcke (Garmin-Barracuda) (Image credit: Bettini Photo) Image 49 of 70 Vansummeren leads Vanmarcke and Farrar (Image credit: Bettini Photo) Image 50 of 70 Johan Vansummeren (Garmin - Barracuda) (Image credit: Bettini Photo) Image 51 of 70 Sep Vanmarcke and Johan Vansummeren (Garmin - Barracuda) (Image credit: Bettini Photo) Image 52 of 70 Sep Vanmarcke before his Paris-Roubaix training ride (Image credit: Photopress.be) Image 53 of 70 BMC kick up dust on their training ride (Image credit: Photopress.be) Image 54 of 70 Even training rides are followed by fans and photographers in Belgium (Image credit: Photopress.be) Image 55 of 70 The Lotto Belisol Team (Image credit: Photopress.be) Image 56 of 70 (Image credit: Photopress.be) Image 57 of 70 Team GreenEdge (Image credit: Photopress.be) Image 58 of 70 Team GreenEdge (Image credit: Photopress.be) Image 59 of 70 Team Saxo Bank (Image credit: Photopress.be) Image 60 of 70 Thor Hushovd thrives on Paris-Roubaix (Image credit: Photopress.be) Image 61 of 70 Johan Vansummeren (Garmin-Barracuda) (Image credit: Photopress.be) Image 62 of 70 Tony Gallopin (RadioShack) could surprise on Sunday (Image credit: Photopress.be) Image 63 of 70 Sep Vanmarcke is a big star in Belgium now (Image credit: Photopress.be) Image 64 of 70 Alessandro Ballan (BMC) is in great form (Image credit: Photopress.be) Image 65 of 70 Johan Vansummeren (Garmin-Barracuda) (Image credit: Photopress.be) Image 66 of 70 Experience pays and George Hincapie has it in abundance (Image credit: Photopress.be) Image 67 of 70 O'Grady shows his teammates the best line through the Arenberg Forest (Image credit: Photopress.be) Image 68 of 70 GreenEdge training on the cobbles (Image credit: Photopress.be) Image 69 of 70 Sep Vanmarcke (Garmin-Barracuda) (Image credit: Photopress.be) Image 70 of 70 (Image credit: Bettini Photo) With just a few days until arguably the biggest one day Classic on the calendar, the roads around Roubaix are become awash with professional riders and team cars.
Expectations for Sunday’s Paris-Roubaix are reaching almost boiling point with a number of Classic contenders ready to do battle on the fabled pave.
In Kortrijk, Belgium, this morning, Tom Boonen will limber up with a final training ride on some of the race’s key sections, including the legendary Arenberg Forest. The Omega-Pharma QuickStep leader has been in scintillating form all spring and his confidence will be sky high after his win in Flanders last weekend.
With no Fabian Cancellara on the start list it’s up to a number of other individuals to bring the fight to Boonen and his all-conquering team. At a press conference on the other side of Kortrijk yesterday, Alessandro Ballan and Thor Hushovd talked up their own chances of victory. The Italian has the better form but Hushovd has shone in Roubaix more often than not and is one of the true rivals Boonen should fear in a velodrome sprint.
BMC were one of the first teams to ride recon yesterday but they certainly weren’t alone. Garmin-Barracuda and their Belgian duo of Sep Vanmarcke and defending champion Johan Vansummeren were among those testing out equipment and the parcours. GreenEdge, Saxo Bank and FDJ-BigMat were also present, while the likes of Sky, Rabobank, Farnese Vini-Selle Italia and Boonen’s Omega Pharma-QuickStep will train today.
