Throughout the years the race has turned out to be a milestone in Team CSC's season and with the victory going to Fabian
Cancellara and Stuart O'Grady for the last two years, CSC wants to add a third victory in the "Hell of the North."
On Thursday the riders went through all the pave sections to get a feel for the race, while Friday and Saturday were spent
with light training.
"We're as well prepared as we can be and now it's up to the riders to do the best they can. The weather forecast says rain
and storm so it'll be tough out there and with that kind of weather you need both luck and strength to win – so we're
hoping for both," says CSC sports director Scott Sunderland ahead of the race.
The winner of the 2006 edition of the race, Fabian Cancellara, is one of the favourites of the race but the Swiss CSC rider
tries to give that role to Quickstep's Tom Boonen. Cancellara told sportwereld.be: "Boonen is the favourite, that's an advantage
for me."
Cancellara was also a favourite for last weeks Tour of Flanders, Cancellara said: "I couldn't move, I immediately had a
few men on my backwheel. Its not easy to be a race favourite. I have to learn from that."
The winner of this years Milano - Sanremo admitted that he wasn't as strong at Flanders as he was in Italy. "I was strong
but not brilliant." Cancellara thinks he will be stronger tomorrow, as he was last Sunday. "Its a race I can win again. Of
course Tom Boonen will be there again and with him the Quickstep team, which will be the team to beat since last Sunday. But
thats good for me. Now they are the favourites again."
Team CSC Roster for Paris - Roubaix 2008: Kurt-Asle Arvesen, Lars Bak, Matti Breschel, Fabian Cancellara,
Allan Johansen, Kasper Klostergaard, Marcus Ljungqvist and Stuart O'Grady.
