Terpstra pips top guns to win Paris-Roubaix

PARIS (Reuters) - Niki Terpstra of the Netherlands seized his opportunity to pip the pre-race favourites and clinch the biggest victory of his career when he won the Paris-Roubaix classic race on Sunday. Terpstra, one of the in-form riders going into the 257-km race featuring 51.1km of cobbled sectors, attacked a group of favourites with six kilometres left and never looked back. He crossed the line on the outdoor Roubaix velodrome some 20 seconds ahead of German John Degenkolb. Swiss Fabian Cancellara, who was bidding to become the first rider to achieve three Paris-Roubaix/Tour of Flanders doubles, came up third after failing to make his move earlier in the race. Belgian Tom Boonen, Terpstra's team leader at Omega Pharma-Quick Step, was the most aggressive rider of the day but he crossed the line in 10th place and failed to become the only man with five Roubaix titles. (Reporting by Julien Pretot; Editing by Pritha Sarkar)