Hayman wins Paris-Roubaix

Mathew Hayman (Orica-GreenEdge) caused a huge upset by beating Tom Boonen (Etixx-QuickStep) in the sprint in one of the most memorable editions of Paris-Roubaix in recent memory. Hayman looked stunned, and almost unbelieving, by his victory, bursting into tears once he realised what he had achieved.

Ian Stannard (Team Sky) tried to come around from the back of the group but didn’t quite have the legs and finished third. Sep Vanmarcke (LottoNL-Jumbo), who had been the most aggressive in the finale, just missed the podium and finished fourth, with Edvald Boasson Hagen (Dimension Data) in fifth.

“I can’t believe it. I broke my arm five weeks ago and I missed all the racing, I raced in Spain last week,” Hayman said. “This is my favourite race. It is the race I dreamed of winning.”

It was Hayman’s 16th appearance at the Hell of the North, previously finishing eighth in 2012, and he was the underdog in an elite five-man group that came to the line. The riders were already part of a select group that did not include pre-race favourites Peter Sagan (Tinkoff) and Fabian Cancellara (Trek-Segafredo). They went clear on the Camphin-en-Pévèl sector after an attack from Stannard distanced much of their group.

The tension ramped up as the cobbled sectors ticked down. Knowing that his chances in a sprint were small, Vanmarcke kicked and made the first serious attack from this small group on the Carrefour de l’Arbe. At first it appeared he had his rivals in trouble, as they scrambled to mount a chase. As they looked to have him pegged, the Belgian kicked again but he was finally brought back after the next sector of cobbles.

Thus ensued a series of attacks and counter attacks, each turning the wick up just a little bit more. It was Hayman and Boonen that entered the velodrome first but a strong chase from Vanmarcke saw him bridge the gap. As the bell tolled, their number had swelled to five again and Hayman wound up the sprint.

It looked like Hayman had gone too early as Boonen sat in his wheel ready to pounce. Stannard tried to go for a long one around the outside but it was too much for him as Hayman and Boonen went head to head. Boonen appeared to get boxed in briefly and was unable to close the gap when he did finally wriggle free, leaving Hayman to take the biggest victory of his career.

Sagan came over the line over two minutes down, just missing out on a top-10 finish. There was no fairy tale for Cancellara, who had crashed earlier and he finished over seven minutes down. To add insult to injury, he hit the deck again in the velodrome while riding around with a Swiss flag.

How it unfolded

After the rollout from sunny Compiegne at 10:50 a.m. countless accelerations came after the official start was given just outside the city centre. Jacopo Guarnieri (Katusha) was the only non-starter.

A first breakaway group of six riders was caught back before Noyon, after 20 kilometres of racing but the speed remained high. Stijn Devolder (Trek-Segafredo) sparked a large and strong breakaway move of 25 riders when exiting Noyon. The group also featured late call up Phil Gaimon (Cannondale) and Mark Cavendish (Dimension Data) and a tailwind meant a high-speed start to the race. However, their lead of half a minute was soon neutralized. A few more small breakaway attempts followed but without success. After 67 kilometres of high-speed racing the riders were back together.

Straight away a new group of 16 riders attacked. They reached the first pavé sector (#27) with a lead of a minute, despite the work from Etixx-QuickStep and Bora-Argon.

Team Sky led the peloton over the first pavé sections, keeping the gap under control and more importantly, keeping their riders safe.

After five pavé sectors had distanced some riders, the break held a two-minute lead over the peloton. The riders up front were Sylvain Chavanel (Direct Energie), Matthew Hayman and Magnus Cort Nielsen (Orica-GreenEdge), Tim Declercq (Topsport Vlaanderen-Baloise), Frederik Backaert (Wanty-Groupe Gobert), Borut Bozic (Cofidis), Marko Kump (Lampre), Salvatore Puccio (Sky), Johan Le Bon (FDJ), Maxime Daniel (AG2R), Reinardt Janse van Rensburg (Dimension Data), Tour of Flanders star Imanol Erviti (Movistar) and Yaroslav Popovych (Trek-Segafredo), who will retired after today’s race.

The leaders extended their lead up to a maximum of 3:45 at sector 20. Just before that sector there was a crash in the peloton. Etixx-QuickStep reacted by charging forward with Guillaume Van Keirsbulck and Tony Martin. The peloton was split up into multiple groups with Cancellara, Sagan and Terpstra featuring in the peloton that trailed the large group that included big names like Luke Rowe, Ian Stannard, Sep Vanmarcke, Zdenek Stybar, Edvald Boasson Hagen and Tom Boonen.

The gap between the two groups quickly grew to a minute when starting sector 19 from Haveluy to Wallers. The breakaway group was 2:40 ahead. Tony Martin did a huge pull on this sector, dropping most of the riders in the group. Only Boonen, Robert Wagner, Stannard, Boasson Hagen and Luke Durbridge followed, sparking a race within the race.

Forest of Arenberg

Boonen led the group over the long cobbled sector of the famous Trouée Arenberg. Cancellara did the same in the peloton with Daniel Oss (BMC), Peter Sagan (Tinkoff) and Nikki Terpstra (Etixx-QuickStep) and the others on his wheel.

After the Arenberg Forest the break had a lead of 1:15 on the Boonen group. The Vanmarcke and Rowe group was 20 seconds further back. The peloton, with Cancellara and Sagan, was more than a minute behind the Boonen group. An isolated world champion accelerated a couple of times to get the speed up in the peloton but their chances seemed compromised.

Just before starting sector 16 the Boonen group and the chase group with Vanmarcke and Rowe merged to change the race yet again. At that moment the 13 riders in the break had just under a minute on the Boonen group of 19 riders. The peloton was following at nearly two minutes from the leaders. Jasper Stuyven (Trek-Segafredo) managed to get the gap down to 35 seconds on the Boonen group when exiting sector 14 at 64 kilometres from the finish. At that moment Popovych sat up in the break to work for Cancellara in the peloton.

After coming off the cobbles of sector 13 from Beuvry to Orchies the early break were caught by the Boonen group. The Sagan-Cancellara peloton was 50 seconds down on the large lead group, as Team Sky tried to put set the pace up front.

Cancellara unleashed his devils on Orchies’ sector 12, with Sagan following swiftly but a little later disaster struck the Sky team on sector 11. One moment they were leading the group with three riders. A few moments later three of their riders were down on the ground. First Moscon and Rowe crashed when coming off the cobbles. Later Puccio missed his corner on the cobbles. Only Stannard remained in front.

Cancellara crashes

A Vanmarcke acceleration brought down the numbers in the front group on the feared cobbles of Mons-en-Pévèle. About 45 seconds further back Cancellara was sitting behind two Giant-Shimano riders when riding through a muddy section on the cobbles. Cancellara’s bike slipped off the crown of the cobbles and the Swiss rider crashed. Sagan somehow managed to get himself and his bike over Cancellara without crashing himself. Terpstra, a Sky rider and several others were less successful and crashed too.

After the chaos the seven remaining leaders had a bonus of one minute on the Sagan group and three minutes on a battered Cancellara. The leaders were Boonen, Erviti, Stannard, Boasson Hagen, Erviti, Vanmarcke, Hayman. On sector 8 Aleksejs Saramotins (IAM Cycling) with Rowe, Sieberg and Heinrich Haussler (IAM Cycling) managed to bridge back up, creating a lead group of ten riders.

At thirty kilometres from the finish the leaders still had a bonus of a minute on the Sagan chase group.

Full Results

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#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Mathew Hayman (Aus) Orica-GreenEdge5:51:53
2Tom Boonen (Bel) Etixx - Quick-StepRow 1 - Cell 2
3Ian Stannard (GBr) Team SkyRow 2 - Cell 2
4Sep Vanmarcke (Bel) Team LottoNl-JumboRow 3 - Cell 2
5Edvald Boasson Hagen (Nor) Dimension Data0:00:03
6Heinrich Haussler (Aus) IAM Cycling0:01:00
7Marcel Sieberg (Ger) Lotto SoudalRow 6 - Cell 2
8Aleksejs Saramotins (Lat) IAM CyclingRow 7 - Cell 2
9Imanol Erviti Ollo (Spa) Movistar Team0:01:07
10Adrien Petit (Fra) Direct Energie0:02:20
11Peter Sagan (Svk) Tinkoff TeamRow 10 - Cell 2
12Maarten Wynants (Bel) Team LottoNl-JumboRow 11 - Cell 2
13Oliver Naesen (Bel) IAM CyclingRow 12 - Cell 2
14Luke Rowe (GBr) Team SkyRow 13 - Cell 2
15Ramon Sinkeldam (Ned) Team Giant-AlpecinRow 14 - Cell 2
16Dylan Van Baarle (Ned) Cannondale Pro CyclingRow 15 - Cell 2
17Bert De Backer (Bel) Team Giant-AlpecinRow 16 - Cell 2
18Luke Durbridge (Aus) Orica-GreenEdge0:04:40
19Marcus Burghardt (Ger) BMC Racing Team0:05:48
20Christophe Laporte (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits0:06:18
21Gijs Van Hoecke (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen - BaloiseRow 20 - Cell 2
22Frederik Backaert (Bel) Wanty - Groupe GobertRow 21 - Cell 2
23Koen De Kort (Ned) Team Giant-AlpecinRow 22 - Cell 2
24Zakkari Dempster (Aus) Bora-Argon 18Row 23 - Cell 2
25Tom Van Asbroeck (Bel) Team LottoNl-JumboRow 24 - Cell 2
26Florian Senechal (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions CreditsRow 25 - Cell 2
27Maarten Tjallingii (Ned) Team LottoNl-Jumbo0:06:28
28Maxime Daniel (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale0:07:12
29Nikias Arndt (Ger) Team Giant-AlpecinRow 28 - Cell 2
30Mark Cavendish (GBr) Dimension DataRow 29 - Cell 2
31Preben Van Hecke (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen - BaloiseRow 30 - Cell 2
32Marco Marcato (Ita) Wanty - Groupe GobertRow 31 - Cell 2
33Salvatore Puccio (Ita) Team SkyRow 32 - Cell 2
34Damien Gaudin (Fra) AG2R La MondialeRow 33 - Cell 2
35Andre Greipel (Ger) Lotto Soudal0:07:24
36Matteo Trentin (Ita) Etixx - Quick-StepRow 35 - Cell 2
37Borut Bozic (Slo) Cofidis, Solutions CreditsRow 36 - Cell 2
38Gianni Moscon (Ita) Team Sky0:07:26
39Jasper Stuyven (Bel) Trek-Segafredo0:07:35
40Fabian Cancellara (Swi) Trek-SegafredoRow 39 - Cell 2
41Stefan Kueng (Swi) BMC Racing Team0:11:14
42Bert Van Lerberghe (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen - BaloiseRow 41 - Cell 2
43Magnus Cort Nielsen (Den) Orica-GreenEdgeRow 42 - Cell 2
44Bernhard Eisel (Aut) Dimension DataRow 43 - Cell 2
45Mike Teunissen (Ned) Team LottoNl-JumboRow 44 - Cell 2
46Timo Roosen (Ned) Team LottoNl-Jumbo0:12:55
47Bjorn Thurau (Ger) Wanty - Groupe Gobert0:14:22
48Alexander Kristoff (Nor) Team Katusha0:14:23
49Taylor Phinney (USA) BMC Racing TeamRow 48 - Cell 2
50Michael Morkov (Den) Team KatushaRow 49 - Cell 2
51Juraj Sagan (Svk) Tinkoff TeamRow 50 - Cell 2
52Robert Wagner (Ger) Team LottoNl-JumboRow 51 - Cell 2
53Jesse Sergent (NZl) AG2R La MondialeRow 52 - Cell 2
54Andreas Schillinger (Ger) Bora-Argon 18Row 53 - Cell 2
55Scott Thwaites (GBr) Bora-Argon 18Row 54 - Cell 2
56Reto Hollenstein (Swi) IAM CyclingRow 55 - Cell 2
57Kenny De Haes (Bel) Wanty - Groupe GobertRow 56 - Cell 2
58Antoine Duchesne (Can) Direct EnergieRow 57 - Cell 2
59Vicente Reynes (Spa) IAM CyclingRow 58 - Cell 2
60Jonas Vangenechten (Bel) IAM CyclingRow 59 - Cell 2
61Danny Van Poppel (Ned) Team SkyRow 60 - Cell 2
62Alan Marangoni (Ita) Cannondale Pro CyclingRow 61 - Cell 2
63Laurens De Vreese (Bel) Astana Pro TeamRow 62 - Cell 2
64Benoit Jarrier (Fra) Fortuneo - Vital ConceptRow 63 - Cell 2
65Lars Ytting Bak (Den) Lotto SoudalRow 64 - Cell 2
66Sebastien Minard (Fra) AG2R La MondialeRow 65 - Cell 2
67Viacheslav Kuznetsov (Rus) Team KatushaRow 66 - Cell 2
68Guillaume Van Keirsbulck (Bel) Etixx - Quick-StepRow 67 - Cell 2
69Jean-Pierre Drucker (Lux) BMC Racing TeamRow 68 - Cell 2
70Jack Bauer (NZl) Cannondale Pro CyclingRow 69 - Cell 2
71Roy Curvers (Ned) Team Giant-AlpecinRow 70 - Cell 2
72Reinardt Janse Van Rensburg (RSA) Dimension DataRow 71 - Cell 2
73Nikolay Trusov (Rus) Tinkoff TeamRow 72 - Cell 2
74Pavel Brutt (Rus) Tinkoff TeamRow 73 - Cell 2
75Francis Mourey (Fra) Fortuneo - Vital ConceptRow 74 - Cell 2
76Tony Martin (Ger) Etixx - Quick-StepRow 75 - Cell 2
77Jens Keukeleire (Bel) Orica-GreenEdge0:14:48
78Jurgen Roelandts (Bel) Lotto SoudalRow 77 - Cell 2
79Dimitri Claeys (Bel) Wanty - Groupe GobertRow 78 - Cell 2
80Evaldas Siskevicius (Ltu) Delko Marseille Provence KTM0:16:52
81Christophe Laborie (Fra) Delko Marseille Provence KTMRow 80 - Cell 2
82Shane Archbold (NZl) Bora-Argon 18Row 81 - Cell 2
83Johan Le Bon (Fra) FDJRow 82 - Cell 2
84Sebastian Langeveld (Ned) Cannondale Pro CyclingRow 83 - Cell 2
85Marko Kump (Slo) Lampre - Merida0:16:57
86Yaroslav Popovych (Ukr) Trek-SegafredoRow 85 - Cell 2
87Wouter Wippert (Ned) Cannondale Pro Cycling0:18:30
88Jan Barta (Cze) Bora-Argon 18Row 87 - Cell 2
89Rick Zabel (Ger) BMC Racing TeamRow 88 - Cell 2
90Roy Jans (Bel) Wanty - Groupe GobertRow 89 - Cell 2
91Robin Stenuit (Bel) Wanty - Groupe GobertRow 90 - Cell 2
92Gediminas Bagdonas (Ltu) AG2R La MondialeRow 91 - Cell 2
93Rudiger Selig (Ger) Bora-Argon 18Row 92 - Cell 2
94Frederik Frison (Bel) Lotto SoudalRow 93 - Cell 2
95Steven Tronet (Fra) Fortuneo - Vital ConceptRow 94 - Cell 2
96Floris Gerts (Ned) BMC Racing TeamRow 95 - Cell 2
97Maxime Farazijn (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen - BaloiseRow 96 - Cell 2
98Markel Irizar (Spa) Trek-SegafredoRow 97 - Cell 2
99Vegard Breen (Nor) Fortuneo - Vital ConceptRow 98 - Cell 2
100Tom Stamsnijder (Ned) Team Giant-AlpecinRow 99 - Cell 2
101Marco Haller (Aut) Team KatushaRow 100 - Cell 2
102Gregory Rast (Swi) Trek-SegafredoRow 101 - Cell 2
103Ryan Mullen (Irl) Cannondale Pro CyclingRow 102 - Cell 2
104Sander Helven (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen - BaloiseRow 103 - Cell 2
105Matt Brammeier (Irl) Dimension DataRow 104 - Cell 2
106Luka Pibernik (Slo) Lampre - MeridaRow 105 - Cell 2
107Yohann Gene (Fra) Direct EnergieRow 106 - Cell 2
108Kristijan Koren (Slo) Cannondale Pro CyclingRow 107 - Cell 2
109Cyril Lemoine (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions CreditsRow 108 - Cell 2
110Zdenek Stybar (Cze) Etixx - Quick-StepRow 109 - Cell 2
111Hugo Houle (Can) AG2R La MondialeRow 110 - Cell 2
112Marc Sarreau (Fra) FDJRow 111 - Cell 2
113Lieuwe Westra (Ned) Astana Pro TeamRow 112 - Cell 2
114Tiesj Benoot (Bel) Lotto SoudalRow 113 - Cell 2
115Iljo Keisse (Bel) Etixx - Quick-StepRow 114 - Cell 2
116Hugo Hofstetter (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits0:18:42
117Jay Robert Thomson (RSA) Dimension Data0:24:45
118Twan Castelijns (Ned) Team LottoNl-JumboRow 117 - Cell 2
119Luka Mezgec (Slo) Orica-GreenEdgeRow 118 - Cell 2
DNFYannick Martinez (Fra) Delko Marseille Provence KTMRow 119 - Cell 2
DNFMartin Laas (Est) Delko Marseille Provence KTMRow 120 - Cell 2
DNFBenjamin Giraud (Fra) Delko Marseille Provence KTMRow 121 - Cell 2
DNFFredrik Strand Galta (Nor) Delko Marseille Provence KTMRow 122 - Cell 2
DNFRomain Combaud (Fra) Delko Marseille Provence KTMRow 123 - Cell 2
DNFMikel Aristi (Spa) Delko Marseille Provence KTMRow 124 - Cell 2
DNFPhillip Gaimon (USA) Cannondale Pro CyclingRow 125 - Cell 2
DNFFrancisco Ventoso (Spa) Movistar TeamRow 126 - Cell 2
DNFJasha Sütterlin (Ger) Movistar TeamRow 127 - Cell 2
DNFDayer Quintana (Col) Movistar TeamRow 128 - Cell 2
DNFNelson Oliveira (Por) Movistar TeamRow 129 - Cell 2
DNFJavier Moreno (Spa) Movistar TeamRow 130 - Cell 2
DNFJuan Jose Lobato (Spa) Movistar TeamRow 131 - Cell 2
DNFJorge Arcas Pena (Spa) Movistar TeamRow 132 - Cell 2
DNFFederico Zurlo (Ita) Lampre - MeridaRow 133 - Cell 2
DNFXu Gang (Tpe) Lampre - MeridaRow 134 - Cell 2
DNFRoberto Ferrari (Ita) Lampre - MeridaRow 135 - Cell 2
DNFChun Kai Feng (Tpe) Lampre - MeridaRow 136 - Cell 2
DNFMario Costa (Por) Lampre - MeridaRow 137 - Cell 2
DNFDavide Cimolai (Ita) Lampre - MeridaRow 138 - Cell 2
DNFTyler Farrar (USA) Dimension DataRow 139 - Cell 2
DNFNick Dougall (RSA) Dimension DataRow 140 - Cell 2
DNFStijn Steels (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen - BaloiseRow 141 - Cell 2
DNFJonas Rickaert (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen - BaloiseRow 142 - Cell 2
DNFTim Declercq (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen - BaloiseRow 143 - Cell 2
DNFAlexandre Pichot (Fra) Direct EnergieRow 144 - Cell 2
DNFJulien Morice (Fra) Direct EnergieRow 145 - Cell 2
DNFFabien Grellier (Fra) Direct EnergieRow 146 - Cell 2
DNFSylvain Chavanel (Fra) Direct EnergieRow 147 - Cell 2
DNFBoris Vallee (Bel) Fortuneo - Vital ConceptRow 148 - Cell 2
DNFDaniel Mclay (GBr) Fortuneo - Vital ConceptRow 149 - Cell 2
DNFYauheni Hutarovich (Blr) Fortuneo - Vital ConceptRow 150 - Cell 2
DNFFranck Bonnamour (Fra) Fortuneo - Vital ConceptRow 151 - Cell 2
DNFOlivier Le Gac (Fra) FDJRow 152 - Cell 2
DNFIgnatas Konovalovas (Ltu) FDJRow 153 - Cell 2
DNFDaniel Hoelgaard (Nor) FDJRow 154 - Cell 2
DNFMurilo Antonio Fischer (Bra) FDJRow 155 - Cell 2
DNFMickael Delage (Fra) FDJRow 156 - Cell 2
DNFMatthieu Ladagnous (Fra) FDJRow 157 - Cell 2
DNFNico Denz (Ger) AG2R La MondialeRow 158 - Cell 2
DNFSebastien Turgot (Fra) AG2R La MondialeRow 159 - Cell 2
DNFBoy Van Poppel (Ned) Trek-SegafredoRow 160 - Cell 2
DNFStijn Devolder (Bel) Trek-SegafredoRow 161 - Cell 2
DNFTom Devriendt (Bel) Wanty - Groupe GobertRow 162 - Cell 2
DNFMichael Van Staeyen (Bel) Cofidis, Solutions CreditsRow 163 - Cell 2
DNFKenneth Van Bilsen (Bel) Cofidis, Solutions CreditsRow 164 - Cell 2
DNFGert Joeaar (Est) Cofidis, Solutions CreditsRow 165 - Cell 2
DNFMichal Kolár (Cze) Tinkoff TeamRow 166 - Cell 2
DNFMichael Gogl (Aut) Tinkoff TeamRow 167 - Cell 2
DNFOscar Gatto (Ita) Tinkoff TeamRow 168 - Cell 2
DNFAdam Blythe (GBr) Tinkoff TeamRow 169 - Cell 2
DNFMichael Schwarzmann (Ger) Bora-Argon 18Row 170 - Cell 2
DNFAlexander Porsev (Rus) Team KatushaRow 171 - Cell 2
DNFNils Politt (Ger) Team KatushaRow 172 - Cell 2
DNFVladimir Isaychev (Rus) Team KatushaRow 173 - Cell 2
DNFJelle Wallays (Bel) Lotto SoudalRow 174 - Cell 2
DNFJasper De Buyst (Bel) Lotto SoudalRow 175 - Cell 2
DNFElia Viviani (Ita) Team SkyRow 176 - Cell 2
DNFChristian Knees (Ger) Team SkyRow 177 - Cell 2
DNFAndrew Fenn (GBr) Team SkyRow 178 - Cell 2
DNFSvein Tuft (Can) Orica-GreenEdgeRow 179 - Cell 2
DNFMitchell Docker (Aus) Orica-GreenEdgeRow 180 - Cell 2
DNFSam Bewley (NZl) Orica-GreenEdgeRow 181 - Cell 2
DNFRoger Kluge (Ger) IAM CyclingRow 182 - Cell 2
DNFGatis Smukulis (Lat) Astana Pro TeamRow 183 - Cell 2
DNFArman Kamyshev (Kaz) Astana Pro TeamRow 184 - Cell 2
DNFDmitriy Gruzdev (Kaz) Astana Pro TeamRow 185 - Cell 2
DNFMaxat Ayazbayev (Kaz) Astana Pro TeamRow 186 - Cell 2
DNFLars Boom (Ned) Astana Pro TeamRow 187 - Cell 2
DNFManuel Quinziato (Ita) BMC Racing TeamRow 188 - Cell 2
DNFDaniel Oss (Ita) BMC Racing TeamRow 189 - Cell 2
DNFNiki Terpstra (Ned) Etixx - Quick-StepRow 190 - Cell 2
DNFNikolas Maes (Bel) Etixx - Quick-StepRow 191 - Cell 2
DNFLars Van Der Haar (Ned) Team Giant-AlpecinRow 192 - Cell 2
DNFSoren Kragh Andersen (Den) Team Giant-AlpecinRow 193 - Cell 2
OTLRyan Anderson (Can) Direct EnergieRow 194 - Cell 2
OTLMatthias Brandle (Aut) IAM CyclingRow 195 - Cell 2
OTLSam Bennett (Irl) Bora-Argon 18Row 196 - Cell 2
OTLMarco Coledan (Ita) Trek-SegafredoRow 197 - Cell 2
DNSJacopo Guarnieri (Ita) Team KatushaRow 198 - Cell 2

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