Greig Leach

The speed of the peloton would increase with each attack that came out of its ranks. That speed and the length that the breakaway had been out in front ensured that they would be caught, eventually. The very last one to succumb to the charging peloton was the Frenchman, Alexis Gougeard (AG2R). Leading the chase when the catch was made was Borut Bozic (Astana) doing the work for his team's hopeful, Lars Boom. It was Boom who took the stage last year that included many of these same pave sections, and like Paris Roubaix, finished in the Roubaix Velodrome. The final catch was made with just 21 kilometers left to race, a valiant effort by Gougeard.