Paris-Roubaix

Fran Ventoso best Movistar Team finisher in second fastest Roubaix in history, the Cantabrian staying with the favourites alongside Iván Gutiérrez until the final 50k

PHOTO GALLERY | Paris-Roubaix

The Movistar Team riders reached further than ever in Paris-Roubaix (254k, 53k of those over cobbles), whose 2013 was the second fastest ever recorded -44.020 kph, just behind the 45+ kph in 1964-. The Blue expedition at the ‘Hell of the North’ was able to take five of their riders into the mythical Velodrome after searching for the day’s break with Eloy Teruel. The Spaniard, already a known face into the classics’ breaks after leading the way during the E3 Prijs Harelbeke, rolled for more than 50k at the front into a 13-man group that was reeled back at km 80, just before the ‘secteurs pavé.’

Rojas, Ventoso, Visconti, Erviti and Gutiérrez were able to enter the favourites’ group after the first selection through the Trouée d’Arenberg; the two Cantabrians were the ones able to get further, just dropped from the elite group at section 10 (Mons-en-Pévèle) after a crash caught Giovanni Visconti and José Joaquín Rojas -with no physical consequences-. It was Ventoso who got into a first main bunch, 3.30 behind Fabian Cancellara (RLT), who claimed his third win at the ‘Queen of the Classics’ over Sep Vanmarcke (BLA) and Niki Terpstra (OPQ).