The BMC Racing Team will be supporting Alessandro Ballan and George Hincapie in Sunday’s Paris-Roubaix. Both riders have finished on the podium in previous editions of the Hell of the North, and both hope to go even better this year.
Ballan, the 2008 World champion, who finished in third place in 2006 and 2008, has shown some good form in the tough classic races so far this season. The Italian finished second in the Montepaschi Strade Bianche a month ago, fourth in Milano-Sanremo, and 12th in last Sunday’s Ronde van Vlaanderen; he crossed the line at the back of the first group behind the winning trio, even though he had been working hard for Hincapie.
Hincapie himself finished sixth in the Ronde has also been in good form so far this year, although his results are a little more modest than his Italian teammate. The multiple US champion finished Paris-Roubaix in second place back in 2005, and has also fourth in 1999 and 2001. The 37-year-old will be starting his 16th edition of the race and, if his Ronde result is any indication, has timed his form just right.
"Our team is strong and we've had a good run at the classics so far," said Hincapie. "We've been knocking on the door for a victory for a while, so hopefully we'll have the luck and a great race."
Unfortunately for Hincapie, luck is the one thing that has rarely followed him to Paris-Roubaix; in 2002, when he was heading for a strong finish on the wheel of then USPS teammate Tom Boonen, he fell, exhausted, into a ditch on the Camphin-en-Pévèle sector; worse was to follow in 2006 though, as his steerer tube snapped on the Mons-en-Pévèle sector, causing his to crash and break his shoulder.
Bad luck may have struck him already this year, as he crashed twice in Wednesday’s Scheldeprijs, but he is optimistic that he has recovered sufficiently.
Director sportif John Lelangue is confident that, although the team contains a number of Roubaix debutants, the presence of riders like 2007 Gent-Wevelgem winner Marcus Burghardt and 2009 Roubaix ninth place Manuel Quinziato means that the team will be strong enough to support its two leaders.
"It will be a good elimination race," said Lelangue. "We have shown we have a strong team so we can be confident."
As well as the experience of Hincapie and Ballan, the team will be able to count on the knowledge of assistant director Fabio Baldato, who finished second to Andre Tchmil in the epic 1994 edition of the Queen of the Classics.
BMC Racing Team for Paris-Roubaix:
Alessandro Ballan, Marcus Burghardt, George Hincapie, Alexander Kristoff, Manuel Quinziato, Michael Schär, Danilo Wyss and Simon Zahner