Defending champion Tom Boonen held onto the Paris-Roubaix crown today, winning the 107th running of the legendarily difficult 259-kilometer cycling race. The Belgian’s back to back win was marred by an accident between a motorcycle and spectators, which left 10 people hurt, three of them seriously.

Despite an early crash, Boonen eventually caught the lead group, led a break of his own at 61km left that split the peleton. The big Belgian (6’4”) flatted with 29 km left, but a fast bike change kept him in the hunt, and then he benefited from another collision on the cobbles that left him up front with Norwegian Thor Hushovd, who also crashed soon after, leaving the Quick Step rider alone. Boonen spent the last 15 kilometers chased by Italian Filippo Pozzato, Hushovd, and Leife Hoste, but held on to finish 49 seconds ahead of Pozzato.

Tagged as: cycling, europe