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Roubaix - Swiss Olympic time-trial champion Fabian Cancellara won the Paris-Roubaix one day classic cycling race on Sunday to complete a rare double of the Tour of Flanders and the Paris-Roubaix in the same season.
The 29-year-old - also the world time-trial champion and winning this event for the second time - is only the 10th rider to achieve the double and first since Belgian Tom Boonen in 2005.
Cancellara eased home on his own. Norwegian Thor Hushovd beat Spaniard Juan Antonio Flecha for the runners-up spot in a sprint finish.
Cancellara took command of the race with a little under 50 km remaining with a surprise, but ultimately decisive acceleration as defending champion and main rival Boonen was finishing feeding.
The big Swiss soon reeled in a lead group of four riders on the 10th from last cobblestoned sector at Mons-en-Pevele, leaving Boonen in his wake among a group of contenders who, crucially, were doing little to help the Belgian.
Cancellara emerged from Mons-en-Pevele, one of the most difficult of the race's 27 cobblestone sectors, with a 20-sec lead on Boonen, who he humbled in spectacular fashion on his way to victory in last week's Tour of Flanders.
With over 45km to race into a headwind the big Saxo Bank rider's victory appeared far from guaranteed.
However his bid was given a helping hand by the disastrous tactics being deployed behind him.
Boonen was left in a seven-man chase group which notably contained Hushovd, Filippo Pozzato, Leif Hoste and Flecha however their pursuit of Cancellara was hampered by their failure to collaborate.
And by the time Cancellara had emerged from the seventh from last cobbled sector at Templeuve, his lead had grown to nearly a minute and a half.
With 25km to race Team Sky's main hope Flecha, the runner-up to Stuart O'Grady in 2007, decided to break from the chase group and went off in pursuit of Cancellara on the sixth from last sector at Wannehain.
However his late bid to catch up with Cancellara was soon countered by Boonen's group, which in doing so left Pozzato momentarily in its wake.
From then on, theirs was a battle for the runner-up places, as Cancellara surged solo, for the second week in a row, to another major one-day classic victory.
Last week Cancellara became the first Swiss since Heiri Suter in 1923 to win at Flanders, and his Tour of Flanders/Paris-Roubaix double is Switzerland's first since Suter's double.
To date, Cancellara now has four major one-day classic wins - Milan-SanRemo in 2006, two at Paris-Roubaix (2006 and 2010) and the Tour of Flanders (2010).
