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Van Avermaet clinches Paris-Roubaix

Ross Dunbar
April 9, 2017

The Olympic Champion claimed his first 'monument' title after finishing second in the Tour of Flanders last weekend. The historic one-day classic in the north of France is known as 'Hell of the North'.

https://p.dw.com/p/2axBx
Radsport Eintagesrennen Paris-Roubaix - Greg Van Avermaet
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/BELGA/E. Lalmand

Olympic champion Greg Van Avermaet added to his second-placed finish at the Tour of Flanders with a superb win at Paris-Roubaix on Sunday.

The 31-year-old Belgian recovered from an earlier collision to clinch victory in the race famous for a 55 kilometer stretch of cobblestones and a Veledrome finish.

In an exciting sprint finish, van Avermaet beat Czech Zdenek Stybar in the outdoor veledrome to continue a superb run of form this Spring. Sebastian Langeveld of Team Cannondale finished in third.

Sunday's race was also the send-off for 36-year-old Tom Boonen, the joint-record four-time winner in Roubaix. The Belgian, who shares the record with compatriot Roger De Vlaeminck, managed to finish in just 13th position.

World champion Peter Sagan suffered an early technical problem and was unable to finish in the top-10. German pair Andre Greipel and John Degenkolb finished seventh and 10th respectively.