Welcome to our live coverage from the Paris Roubaix as Fabian Cancellara looks to defend his title on the draining cobblestones.

Roger Hammond goes down! That's gutting for the 37-year-old, and it looked like he might have done his collar bone then as Heinrich Haussler shot over and island in the middle of the road and both men went down. Nasty crash

Kevin van Impe goes down now, after clashing with a Katusha rider. There's a very rough, very open stretch of cobbles now heading towards Arenberg, and the 10 escapees are up to two minutes and 40 seconds clear!

A Europcar rider clips the curb from the edge of the peloton, and goes down heavily. He gets back on his bike, and rejoins the bunch at the back. There's some real hustling going on to get to the front of the bunch!

We're into the final 100km of the Paris - Roubaix! Jimmy Engoulvent has suffered a chain problem and dropped out of the breakaway, as the peloton clears the 1.6km sector 18 at Maing à Monchaux-sur-Écaillon

The Forest of Arenberg is fast approaching, and the favourites - Cancellara, Boonen, Hushovd, and Chavanel - might just start getting a little bit worried as the breakaway's lead extends to two minutes and 15 seconds.

One minute and 55 seconds gap now for the 11 breakaway riders, and the cloud of dust they're producing on the dry, dirty cobbles is quite spectacular.

So the leading group now consists of Martin Elmiger (AG2R-La Mondiale), Timon Seubert (Team NetApp), Jimmy Engoulvent (Saur-Sojasun), Mitchell Docker (Skil-Shimano), Nelson Oliveira (RadioShack), David Boucher (Omega-Pharma Lotto), Marteen Tjallingi (Rabobank), David Veilleux (Europcar), Andre Greipel (Omega Pharma-Lotto), Koen de Kort (Skil-Shimano) and Gorazd Stangelj (Astana). They're one minute and 35 seconds clear

Greipel's group reaches the leading seven, and this is developing into a serious breakaway now! A Lampre rider skids out on a corner as the stretched-out peloton tries to reel in the leading 11

The lead is down to just 20 seconds now, as Matt Goss and Simon Clarke recover from punctures...

The peloton is really getting strung out now as the next cobbled section comes up at Aulnoy. Our television coverage is now underway, and you can watch it

The lead is down to 35 seconds from the chasing four, as David Boucher drops back into the peloton after a puncture. The bunch are one minute 20 behind

There's a crash in the peloton! The bunch grinds almost to a halt on a steep section of cobbles, and Bjorn Leukemans (one of the favourites for the race at 25/1). After much scrapping and scrabbling around, they're back on their way, but the Belgian faces a slog now to get back into contention in this searing heat

It's very dusty, and very dry as the riders head through Vertain à Saint-Martin-sur-Écaillon. Greipel's small breakaway group has been quickly swallowed up, but remaing at the head of the peloton. The leading eight are now one minute and 10 seconds clear

Cancellara switches bikes, as the peloton reduce the breakaway's lead to 55 seconds. Omega Pharma-Lotto's Andre Greipel tries to stir a reaction from the peloton with another escape, and a handful of riders follow him

The third cobbled section approaches at Quievy a Saint-Python, with Elmiger, Seubert, Engoulvent, Docker, Oliveira, Boucher, Tjallingi, and Veilleux ahead by one minute and 25 seconds!

Quick Step's Tom Boonen: "Sunday will be another battle but our team is ready. We have some great riders on the team and we can count on an outstanding Chavanel; after what he did on Sunday in the Ronde he's become a race favourite. There's plenty of competition. I'd put Cancellara a little bit above the rest, but there are at least 8 riders who could win it. We're going to do our best to give the team a prestigious win."

Frenchman Arnaud Coyot (Saur-Sojasun) has retired, which will be massively disappointing for the 30-year-old who finished Paris-Roubaix 10th back in 2005

The breakaway bunch hit the cobbles! The gap from the peloton stands at 50 seconds, after the Troisvilles sector!

AG2R-La Mondiale's Martin Elmiger launches an attack! Simon Seubert (Team Netapp) joins the Swiss as the fierce racing continues, and Jimmy Engoulvent (Saur-Sojasun), Mitchell Docker (Skil-Shimano), Nelson Oliveira (RadioShack), David Boucher (Omega-Pharma Lotto), Marteen Tjallingi (Rabobank) and David Veilleux (Europcar) also join the move.

Cofidis's Kevin Ista tries to launch an attack, but the Belgian is quickly reeled in. The peleton is very stretched now, and continuing at a blistering pace.

Toisvilles a Inchy presents just the first of 27 cobbled sections. Race organisers classify the sections with stars - five for the longest and hardest, one for the shorter sectores. The first sector is three-stars, so a moderate-difficulty start for the 196 remaining riders.