The 2001 edition of Paris-Roubaix has its place in the annals of cycling history for a number of reasons. 25 years on, the race is remembered as the muddiest Roubaix ever, with crashes, mechanicals and the power of the brand new Domo-Farm Frites-Latexco team ripping the race to pieces.
Managed by Patrick Lefevere, Domo-Farm Frites-Latexco swept the podium in a superlative display of strength. However, it wasn’t Johan Museeuw or reigning world champion Romans Vainsteins sitting on top of the pile. That honour unexpectedly fell to Servais Knaven, a rider who has become synonymous with the Hell of the North ever since and jointly holds the record for the most finishes of the race with 16.
“It’s always been a special race for me from the first time I started. I fell in love immediately,” Knaven tells Cyclingnews a quarter of a century on. “Winning Roubaix was the best moment of my cycling career.”
Article continues below
When a domestique becomes a winner
Knaven went into the 99th edition of Paris-Roubaix with a focus on supporting his more decorated teammates. By 2001, Museeuw had won the Tour of Flanders three times and Roubaix twice (he would go on to win in the velodrome again the following year). Vainsteins had just finished on the podium of Milan-San Remo having claimed the rainbow bands six months earlier in Plouay. Others, such as Wilfried Peeters, also sat higher in the pecking order than Knaven.
The team was feared by the rest of the peloton in the Classics that year, but up to that point had not yet landed a landmark victory.
“It was the first year of the team. We were really chasing a big win and we didn’t really have the best results until that day,” Knaven remembers.
In the days before the 2001 edition of Paris-Roubaix, the heavens had opened over the route, creating a covering of muddy sludge over the pavé. The surface under the wheels of the riders caused crashes early on. Many of those who avoided the falls suffered multiple…
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at CyclingNews RSS Feed…