by Zach Bigalke

Created on: January 23, 2007   Last Updated: April 27, 2007

103rd Edition 2005 Paris-Roubaix
10 April 2005 259 km

The 2005 edition of Paris-Roubaix will go down in history for the absence of several old legends and the creation of a new one. The big news before the race was the absence of the now-infamous Troue d'Arenberg. Citing grave concerns for the safety of the peloton, race organizer Amaury Sports Organization removed the popular and frequently crucial section from the race. They then went out and found a 2600 meter cobbled climb near Valenciennes along with several other new sections to boost the race total to 54.7 kilometers of pav. Even without the notorious Arenberg trench, the race would live up to its reputation as the Hell of the North. For the first time in race history, a cobblestone climb would enter the course of Paris-Roubaix. Though it would prove to be too far from Roubaix to provide the decisive break, it provided a formidable challenge for the riders.

This was also the first Paris-Roubaix following Johan Museeuw's long-postponed retirement. The Lion of Flanders, a three-time winner of the Queen of the Classics, was waiting in the velodrome at Roubaix anticipating the arrival of his protg Tom Boonen, the main contender for the race victory after his impressive solo victory at the Ronde van Vlaanderen the preceding Sunday. His Quick.Step-Innergetic team was a high-octane bunch including young Italian Filippo Pozzato, Het Volk champion Nick Nuyens, and 2001 Paris-Roubaix champion Servais Knaven. Boonen was attempting a feat never accomplished by his mentor: the Flanders-Roubaix double, achieved by only seven men in the long history of the two races.
The last person to achieve this very feat would also be lining up in Compigne, fancying his own chances to arrive first at the velodrome. Peter Van Petegem was on form after taking the bunch sprint for third in the group 40 seconds behind Boonen at Flanders. His lieutenant, Nico Mattan, surprised the field to finish first at Wevelgem during midweek racing. Their Davitamon-Lotto team was arriving strong, with Belgian champion Tom Steels, Henk Vogels, and Leon Van Bon also on hand to assist Van Petegem in his hunt for a second Paris-Roubaix.
Defending champion Magnus Bckstedt, riding for the new Liquigas-Bianchi squad, was riding battered and bruised from a recent crash, but in good spirits to repeat his feat from the previous year. 1999 champion Andrea Tafi was competing in his final Paris-Roubaix, arriving at the line in Compigne sporting a special pav-patterned

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