Johan Van Summeren has always been a fine team rider. He works for anybody and everybody he is told to, and has set numerous teammates up for some major wins in their careers. From the start, today it seemed like he would be spending his day working for Hushovd, but the Hell of the North had other plans. Hushovd fell out of contention, and Van Summeren was given an opportunity that many domestiques can only dream of; his own moment in the glory. Van Summeren seized the initiative, and stole the race away from the conventional favorites with a powerful attack in the last 15 km. The race started just like any other Paris-Roubaix; hell. Geraint Thomas and Dominic Klemme, among a number of others, were forced to abandon because of crashes on the early stretches of cobbles. Quick Step's chances were also destroyed rather early when they lost both Boonen and Chavanel to the cruel hands of Paris-Roubaix.
Things eventually calmed down, and a 20 man breakaway was allowed to escape off the front of the peloton. The peloton, which contained all of the leaders at the time, was content to sit back and allow them ground so that they could watch each other the entire time. Let the tactics begin! 
With the leaders chugging up the road, Cancellara chose to make his first move on sector 10. It was quickly marked by Hushovd, Ballan, and Flecha. Eventually the four men backed off and allowed several other riders falling from the breakaway to join them. While the fun for those men was just beginning, Cancellara's first attack essentially destroyed the hopes of O'Grady, Langeveld, Hincapie, Farrar, and everyone else who was unable to mark that initial effort on the Mons en Pevele. 
Cancellara would attack yet again when the field hit sector 8 (Point-Thibaut a Ennevelin), and this time only Hushovd could mark him. Ballan would eventually bridge the gap, but Flecha was left in the dust and his hopes were essentially dashed. Cancellara (again doing all the work) decimated the gap to the leaders by 1 minute, but then he decided that he would play the game as well to avoid falling into the trap set on him last week. 
Cancellara sat up and motioned Hushovd and Ballan to take over, but neither had any interest in doing so. The three men just sat there coasting and staring at each other, all the while allowing the breakaway up front to regain their advantage. Cancellara would later be spotted yelling something at the Garmin team car, which was in the long line of cars driving past the near-stationary riders.Cancellara's logic was simple; he did not want to do all the work to drag a world-class sprinter with him to the velodrome only to be overtaken at the last moment. It seemed a strange decision for Hushovd not to work at the time, but he did have two teammates up the road. (Van Summeren being one of them, Gabriel Rasch the other) Could the plans for Van Summeren have already been in the works and he was simply playing defense? Maybe, maybe not. As for Ballan, nobody knows why he chose not to work.
This left the perfect launching point for Mr. Van Summeren, and with 15 km to go the Belgian hero of the day made his move. Maarten Tjallingii tried to follow him, but simply could not keep the powerful Van Summeren in his sights for long.
Meanwhile back in the field Cancellara realized that it was do-or-die time for his Paris-Roubaix chances. He launched a killer attack up the road that was so powerful only Hushovd could match him this time. By now Hushovd was surely only playing defense and Cancellara probably knew that, but he still showed the sense of urgency that he needed to drop the world champion in a hurry. We may never know if that attack would have worked, because soon after they got caught up in the motor bikes and were forced to back off. 10 km, and Van Summeren powered on.5 km, and Van Summeren powered on.
3 km, and Van Summeren powered on. But Cancellara had one last trick up his sleeve. He launched a last-ditch effort with 3 km to go, and flew up the road at an incredible pace.
He quickly collected every other member of the breakaway, but simply ran out of time. Van Summeren was able to cruise around the velodrome to a standing ovation, and all the defending champ could do was watch from the other side of the straight before he won the sprint for 2nd. 
The ecstatic Van Summeren regained his breath, collected his famed trophy, proposed to his girlfriend, and prepared to celebrate the biggest day of his life. Team Garmin-Cervelo's ability to transition from working for Hushovd to blocking for Van Summeren really was the deciding factor today. Thor kept Fabian on a leash for just long enough to allow his teammate the victory, and give Garmin's famed Classics squad a win that nobody thought they would take. Jon Vaughters has to feel great as well, after all the criticism he faced this week after his decision in Flanders."He who laughs last, laughs hardest," tweeted Vaughters at the conclusion of the race. It would later be discovered that Van Summeren accomplished something even more remarkable than anybody originally thought. Not only did he hold off a charging Cancellara, but he did it with a flat tire! Absolute determination today, and I really can't name anybody who deserved it more.
Full Results
Full Results2. Fabian Cancellara (Swi), Leopard-Trek, at 0:19
3. Maarten Tjallingii (Nl), Rabobank Cycling Team, at 0:19
4. Grégory Rast (Swi), Team Radioshack, at 0:19
5. Lars Ytting Bak (Den), HTC-Highroad, at 0:21
6. Alessandro Ballan (I), BMC Racing Team, at 0:36
7. Bernhard Eisel (A), HTC-Highroad, at 0:47
8. Thor Hushovd (Nor), Garmin-Cervélo, at 0:47
9. Juan Antonio Flecha Giannoni (Sp), Team Sky, at 0:47
10. Mathew Hayman (Aus), Team Sky, at 0:47
11. Frédéric Guesdon (F), Française des Jeux , at 0:47
12. Lars Boom (Nl), Rabobank Cycling Team, at 0:47
13. Mirko Selvaggi (I), Vacansoleil-DCM, at 47
14. Jurgen Roelandts (B), Omega Pharma-Lotto, at 47
15. Mitchell Docker (Aus), Skil-Shimano, at 47
16. Damien Gaudin (F), Europcar, at 47
17. Martin Elmiger (Swi), Ag2r La Mondiale, at 47
18. Tomas Vaitkus (Ltu), Astana, at 47
19. John Degenkolb (G), HTC-Highroad, at 2:10
20. Sep Vanmarcke (B), Garmin-Cervélo, at 2:10
21. André Greipel (G), Omega Pharma-Lotto, at 3:43
22. Baden Cooke (Aus), Saxobank-Sungard, at 3:43
23. Gabriel Rasch (Nor), Garmin-Cervélo, at 3:43
24. Manuel Quinziato (I), BMC Racing Team, at 3:43
25. David Veilleux (Can), Europcar, at 3:45
26. Sebastian Langeveld (Nl), Rabobank Cycling Team, at 4:06
27. Tom Veelers (Nl), Skil-Shimano, at 4:46
28. Tyler Farrar (USA), Garmin-Cervélo, at 4:46
29. Kevin Ista (B), Cofidis, Le Credit En Ligne, at 4:46
30. Jens Keukeleire (B), Cofidis, Le Credit En Ligne, at 4:46
31. Matteo Tosatto (I), Saxobank-Sungard, at 4:46
32. Marcus Burghardt (G), BMC Racing Team, at 4:46
33. Steve Chainel (F), Française des Jeux, at 4:46
34. Sébastien Turgot (F), Europcar, at 4:46
35. Kristof Goddaert (B), Ag2r La Mondiale, at 4:46
36. Ian Stannard (GB), Team Sky, at 4:46
37. Michael Schär (Swi), BMC Racing Team, at 4:46
38. Sylvain Chavanel (F), Quick Step, at 4:46
39. Sébastien Chavanel (F), Europcar, at 4:46
40. Sébastien Minard (F), Ag2r La Mondiale, at 4:46
41. Sébastien Rosseler (B), Team Radioshack, at 4:46
42. George Hincapie (USA), BMC Racing Team, at 4:46
43. Gustav Larsson (Swe), Saxobank-Sungard, at 4:46
44. Gorazd Stangelj (Slo), Astana, at 4:46
45. Imanol Erviti (Sp), Movistar, at 4:46
46. Thomas Leezer (Nl), Rabobank Cycling Team, at 4:54
47. Maxim Gourov (Kaz), Astana, at 6:42
48. Robbie Mcewen (Aus), Team Radioshack, at 9:16
49. Andreas Klier (G), Garmin-Cervélo, at 9:16
50. Alex Rasmussen (Den), HTC-Highroad, at 10:06
51. Bert De Backer (B), Skil-Shimano, at 10:10
52. David Boucher (F), Omega Pharma-Lotto, at 10:10
53. Sébastien Hinault (F), Ag2r La Mondiale, at 10:10
54. Leonardo Fabio Duque (Col), Cofidis, Le Credit En Ligne, at 10:10
55. Maarten Neyens (B), Omega Pharma-Lotto, at 10:10
56. Jean-Lou Paiani (F), Saur-Sojasun, at 10:10
57. Marcel Sieberg (G), Omega Pharma-Lotto, at 10:10
58. Kasper Klostergaard Larsen (Den), Saxobank-Sungard, at 10:10
59. Alexandre Pichot (F), Europcar, at 10:10
60. Rony Martias (F), Saur-Sojasun, at 10:14
61. Saïd Haddou (F), Europcar, at 10:14
62. Mathieu Claude (F), Europcar, at 10:14
63. Jonas Aaen Jörgensen (Den), Saxobank-Sungard, at 10:14
64. Timon Seubert (G), Team Netapp, at 10:16
65. Jimmy Engoulvent (F), Saur-Sojasun, at 10:16
66. Koen De Kort (Nl), Skil-Shimano, at 10:16
67. Nico Sijmens (B), Cofidis, Le Credit En Ligne, at 10:16
68. William Bonnet (F), Française des Jeux, at 10:16
69. Jimmy Casper (F), Saur-Sojasun, at 12:58
70. Robert Retschke (G), Team Netapp, at 12:58
71. Fumiyuki Beppu (Jpn), Team Radioshack, at 12:58
72. Bjorn Selander (USA), Team Radioshack, at 12:58
73. Jan Barta (Cze), Team Netapp, at 12:58
74. Jean-Luc Delpech (F), Bretagne-Schuller, at 12:58
75. Mickael Delage (F), Française des Jeux, at 12:58
76. Benjamin King (USA), Team Radioshack, at 12:58
77. Daniel Oss (I), Liquigas-Doimo, at 12:58
78. Kristijan Koren (Slo), Liquigas-Doimo, at 12:58
79. Cyril Lemoine (F), Saur-Sojasun, at 12:58
80. Gael Malacarne (F), Bretagne-Schuller, at 13:02
81. Romain Lemarchand (F), Ag2r La Mondiale, at 13:02
82. Mirco Lorenzetto (I), Astana, at 13:02
83. Roy Curvers (Nl), Skil-Shimano, at 13:02
84. Daniele Righi (I), Lampre-Farnese Vini, at 13:02
85. Yohann Gene (F), Europcar, at 13:02
86. Peter Sagan (Svk), Liquigas-Doimo, at 13:04
87. Gerald Ciolek (G), Quick Step, at 13:06
88. Dennis Van Winden (Nl), Rabobank Cycling Team, at 13:06
89. Kevin Van Impe (B), Quick Step, at 13:15
90. Bradley Wiggins (GB), Team Sky, at 13:50
91. Adrien Petit (F), Cofidis, Le Credit En Ligne, at 13:50
92. Romain Zingle (B), Cofidis, Le Credit En Ligne, at 13:50
93. Jaroslaw Marycz (Pol), Saxobank-Sungard, at 13:53
94. Martin Mortensen (Den), Leopard-Trek, at 13:53
95. Dominique Rollin (Can), Française des Jeux, at 13:53
96. Simon Zahner (Swi), BMC Racing Team, at 13:59
97. Marco Bandiera (I), Quick Step, at 14:02
98. Danilo Hondo (G), Lampre-Farnese Vini, at 17:42
99. Dmytro Krivtsov (Ukr), Lampre-Farnese Vini, at 17:42
100. Alan Marangoni (I), Liquigas-Doimo, at 17:42
101. Mathieu Halleguen (F), Bretagne-Schuller, at 17:42
102. Michael Barry (Can), Team Sky, at 17:42
103. Alan Perez Lezaun (Sp), Euskaltel-Euskadi, at 17:42
104. Stéphane Bonsergent (F), Bretagne-Schuller, at 17:42
105. Stijn Devolder (B), Vacansoleil-DCM, at 17:42
106. Adam Hansen (Aus), Omega Pharma-Lotto, at 17:42
107. Michaël Baer (Swi), Team Netapp, at 17:42
108. Andreas Schillinger (G), Team Netapp, at 17:42
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