News for April 16, 2001

99th Paris-Roubaix news

Servais Knaven in brief

Servais Knaven wipes
away a tear on the podium
Photo: ©AFP

The winner of this year's Paris-Roubaix was a Dutchman, a rare occurrence in this Belgian dominated race. Servais Knaven is 30 year old, and was born in Lobith, the Netherlands. He is an experienced rider, and a former Dutch champion in 1995. He has ridden for three teams during his seven plus year career as a pro (TVM, Farm Frites and Domo-Farm Frites).

"He did well not to follow Van Petegem [who went to Mercury]," said Domo team boss Patrick Lefevre.

Bio

Born: March 6, 1971 in Lobith (Netherlands)
Professional since: 1994
Teams: TVM (1994-1999), Farm Frites (2000), Domo-Farm Frites (2001)

Principal victories

1995 Dutch Road Championship
1997 Tour of Denmark
1998 Grote Scheldeprijs
1999 Ronde van Midden Zeeland
2000 Guldensporentweedaagse
2001 Paris-Roubaix

Paris-Roubaix history: 36th (1995), 31st (1996), 30th (1997), 39th (1998), 30th (1999), 12th (2000), 1st (2001).

Current UCI ranking: 74th

Post race comments

Servais Knaven (1st, Domo-Farm Frites)
"I realised I had good feelings today, I had super legs and never had any problems. The first section of cobbles I approached in third position, I was going well."

"Later, the puncture of Museeuw was beneficial to me: it forced me not to attack. I then attacked with three attempts. But Hincapie, initially, then Museeuw filled the hole. Fortunately, I felt I could accelerate a third time."

"Only when I was out in front, I started to laugh at the situation. Today I gained something for myself. My sacrifices over the winter in cyclo-cross were not in vain."

Knaven's big win has been a long time coming, especially after his Dutch title in '95. "I thought it was going to a new level. The following year proved to be more difficult...I hope it will be a new start this time, because this helps to justify my choice in relation to Domo."

In contrast to other occasions when Lefevre has dictated the race, Knaven was probably the least well known of the Domo riders in the leading group. Why give it to him rather than Museeuw or Vainsteins (or even Peeters)? "I always thought that one day I would find myself in a situation where I had the advantage at the end of a Classic. I did not think it would be in Paris-Roubaix, rather with a race like Het Volk."

"In 1995, I immediately fell in love with this race. I knew it would be my favourite. I will celebrate this happiness with champagne...and perhaps then with beer."

Romans Vainsteins (3rd, Domo)
"I was tired at the end, because I had to wait for Museeuw after his fall. I will only ride Amstel to defend this World Cup jersey. Then, nothing more until the Tour de France. I will ride the World Cup races after that."

George Hincapie (4th, USPS)
"What could I do against Domo? There were four of them riding a perfect race. Each time I made an effort, I had one of them on my back. They had a super team, and what they did was tactically normal. I gave everything I could."

"I tried to beat Vainsteins in the sprint, but I was too tired. I am convinced that I can win this race once."

Wilfried Peeters (5th, Domo)
"If I had been able get two minutes lead, I would then have won. But in spite of my efforts, I could never get such a gap during my escape. We had many choices. I will need two to three days to recover."

Ludo Dierckxsens (6th, Lampre-Daikin)
"I rode strongly, but I was alone against everyone else. I think Hincapie was the strongest, but you can forget it with the Domo clan. Peeters had a superb escape. In every case, there was always Domo to thwart any unfavourable move. I had super legs, like last week in the Ronde van Vlaanderen

Andrei Tchmil (8th, Lotto)

"I fell in the 3rd section. I badly hurt my hip and left knee. All day, I never saw the front of the race. But after all it isn't so bad, because I finished one better than the Tour of Flanders."

Chris Peers (9th, Cofidis)

Chris Peers
Photo: © Jeff Jones/CN

In that mud I had to let them go. My broken rib gave some problems, but I'm glad I finished."

Nico Mattan (13th, Cofidis)
"Cofidis had three in front. Gaumont fell, I punctured. We were against four Domo, with Museeuw and Vainsteins not working, there was nothing we could do."

"I am not disappointed. I had a good race, but Domo was the strongest."

Franco Ballerini (32nd, Mapei-Quick Step)
"I had my worst Paris-Roubaix today, because I was not at my previous level. This year it was a true "Hell of the North" parcours.

"I quickly realized that I could not remain long with the best riders. Then I thought mainly of finishing for the public. Mapei will return to gain Paris-Roubaix."

Ballerini goes out smiling

Franco Ballerini and son
Photo: © Jeff Jones/CN

Although he didn't win his final race today, Franco Ballerini bowed out in fine style from cycling by finishing the Hell of the North for the 13th time. He is a dual Paris-Roubaix winner (1995 and 1998), and also came close in 1993 and 1994 when he finished second and third. But he could not find his legs on the pavé today, and had to settle for 32nd.

Before the start of the race, the gentlemanly Italian posed for countless pictures and gave many interviews in the drizzle at Compiegne. It didn't stop there of course as he was mobbed by the press at the finish in the Roubaix velodrome. The Sociètè du Tour de France will award him with a special trophy to signify the admiration that the French have for this great Italian cyclist.

Ballerini was born in Florence in 1964, and turned pro in 1986. In addition to his Paris-Roubaix triumphs, he has also won a stage in the Giro as well as the Tre Valli Varesine. He will retire now from professional racing, but will become a manager in the Mapei-Quick Step team that he has ridden in for most of the last 8 years.

French start well

Although a French Paris-Roubaix winner seems unlikely unless one signs for Patrick Lefevre's team, the home country had some cause to cheer today as several Frenchman made the race in the early part. Christophe Agnolutto and Stéphane Berges (Ag2r), Sylvain Chavanel (Bonjour), and Florent Brard (Festina) were part of the six man breakaway that attacked at kilometre 44, staying clear for almost 100 kilometres in the mud.

Christophe Agnolutto went on to finish 21st, not a bad showing for a specialist suicide breakaway rider. "I promised myself not to miss the early breakaway, and in the end I was surprised because in spite of my dislike of the muddy paved sectors, I had a good race. It is the first time that I have finished within the time limit."

Florent Brard also had a good ride, attacking after the Arenberg Forest when everyone thought he was finished. He made it to Roubaix in 38th position, 12'28 behind the winner. "Frankly, when I found myself accompanied by the World Champion Romans Vainsteins and my god Johan Museeuw with sixty kilometers to the finish, I was very proud."

"I paid for my effort in the end, and I have justified my desire to dispute this race, even if it means I'll be dead on Tuesday, for the next round of the Coupe de France (Paris-Camembert), where I'll be the leader," he added.

However, the best French rider was Christophe Mengin (La Francaise Des Jeux) who finished 17th at 7'57. Former winner (1997) Fredéric Guesdon (FdJ) is still very popular in France, even though he has never approached a result like that since. Today he regretted the fact that he fell on the very first section of pavé, when the break went, and then punctured on section three.

"I did not have any teammates with me and I had to wait until my directeur sportif arrived," he said. "I hoped that the group in front would slow and reform. In fact, that never happened and I had to ride alone all day, going from group to group before finally getting to Tchmil, Van Petegem, Ballerini and my friend Christophe Mengin."

"The race was already over. It is a pity because I think had had the strength to do better."

Gaumont fractures his femur

Cofidis' Philippe Gaumont had the misfortune (or perhaps it was normal fortune) to crash whilst in the leading group today, with the result that he fractured his femur. The flamboyant Gaumont has looked good in the World Cups this season, but has managed to crash at critical moments in each of them so far: Milan-San Remo, Ronde van Vlaanderen, and now Paris-Roubaix.

Today he managed to fall in the rather severe Arenberg Forest section (km 165), and was taken to the hospital in Valenciennes after he was in no condition to ride. It was there they found he'd fractured his right femur, another victim of today's Hell.

Savoldelli, Dufaux et al ride Giro climbs

Saeco's Paolo Savoldelli, Laurent Dufaux, Francesco Secchiari and Igor Pugaci completed a reconnaissance of some of the toughest stages of this year's Giro d'Italia. The four cyclists rode stages in Reggio Emilia, San Remo, S. Anna di Vinadio and Arona.

The 2001 Giro will be just as hard as the last few editions," said director Bruno Vicino. "The difficulty of a race always depends on the riders, but the climbs in this year's race will be hard for everybody."

Paolo Savoldelli elaborated: "Between Montecatini and Reggio Emilia there isn't a single metre of flat road. It'll be a tough stage. The San Remo stage is short and so will be really nerve wracking. It'll suit riders who like to attack."

"We didn't see all of the S. Anna climb because the summit was still blocked by snow but it looks very tough. It's a long stage - the summit of the Fauniera is after 180km and then there is the descent and the climb up to S. Anna. There be some big time gaps on this stage."

"Everybody said it would be an easier Giro than recently, but I've never believed that. I'm still optimistic I can do well. It's important to be as fit as possible and that's what I'm going to be working on in the next few weeks."