Welcome to live coverage of the 112th edition of Paris-Roubaix - the 'Hell of the North' - the third monument of the spring classic season, a brutish schlep across the cobbles of northern France.

Arnaud Demare was one of the riders caught up in that earlier spill - apparently just as he got back into the peloton. Nothing serious, mind. Not long until the Arenberg Forest - just 23km to be precise.

The leaders are onto sector 21: Quérénaing – Famars (1.2km and 2-star). Still no rain and the cobbled roads are extremely dusty.

Boucher is back with the leaders, with the gap currently 6:40 over the peloton.

FDJ's David Boucher edges ahead of his fellow escapees in sector 22, the 3-star Verchain – Maugré (1.6km).

Belkin, Trek and Omega Pharma set the pace on the front of the pack as they pass a field of bright yellow oilseed rape.

CRASH: Four riders come to a standstill on the back of the pack as they enter the Saulzoir section. No one comes down on the cobbles, but a couple of them roll over into the crash verge.

Bradley Wiggins currently taking things easy on th eback of the peloton for Team Sky. He's the first Tour winner since Greg LeMond in 1995 to ride Roubaix. His best finish here was in 2009, when he rode for Garmin and took 25th place.

Sector 23 at Saulzoir for the leaders - 1.2km and 2-star. They have 6:15 on the pack.

Jimmy Engoulvent stops to change bikes with a Europcar team-mate in the Solesmes sector. He must have got a flat.

Benoit Jarrier, one of the eight escapees, has just taken his helmet off and is busy cleaning something off the top of his head with a disgusted look on his face. Perhaps he's just been pooed on by a bird?

Rear wheel change for FDJ's Arnaud Demare in the feed zone. The French youngster is an interesting outside bet today.

The leaders are onto the fifth cobbled sector, the 2-star Solesmes (just 800m). They have 6:45 ovr the pack.

The gap is back up to seven minutes for the eight leaders as Boonen gets back in touch with the peloton.

With Boonen off the back following that puncture, the Trek team of Fabian Cancellara are driving the pace on the front of the pack.

Tom Boonen, the four-time winner, has picked up a puncture in the Saint-Python section. That's something that doesn't happen often - in fact, it's the first time it's ever happened to Boonen. To win Roubaix, you need luck, strength and skill. If you do puncture, you want to do it here, not later.

Approaching the 2-star Saint-Python (1.5km) section and the lead is tumbling pretty rapidly. The escapees now have just five minutes to play with.

And now the 3.7km Quievy sector (4-star). It's very dusty on these bone-jangling roads. The lead is down to 7:30 for the eight escapees.

The leaders are onto the second cobbled sector, the 3-star 1.8km Veisley.

A fast average speed of 46kmph so far in this race. The eight leaders pass through Troisvilles without too much ado. They are: David Boucher (FDJ), Kenny de Haes (Lotto Belisol), Andreas Schillinger (NetApp-Endura), Michael Kolar (Tinkoff-Saxo), Clement Koretzky and Benoit Jarrier (both Bretagne-Seche Environnement), Tim De Troyer (Wanty - Groupe Gobert) and John Murphy (UnitedHealthCare).

Weather update: the wind is kicking up, with strong cross and tailwinds. The clouds are gathering too, which means we could be in line for some afternoon showers.

LET THE COBBLES COMMENCE: The eight leaders jangle onto the first sector of pave, a 3-star 2.2km section at Troisvilles.