Good morning and welcome to live coverage of the 115th edition of Paris-Roubaix: the Hell of the North, the Queen of the Classics, the brutal dusty/muddy one with the cobbles where everyone falls off or collides with spectators... call it what you want, this is the big one, and the third monument of the season.

That two-man break peaked at 17 seconds but has now been swallowed up and we have numerous other riders now trying their luck on a slight uphill rise - including riders from Wanty and Cannondale...

Tom Boonen and compatriot Greg van Avermaet are chatting back in the peloton. The two Belgians are two of the big favourites for today's race: it would be Boonen's fifth Roubaix and eighth monument win in 42 appearance, while it would be van Avermaet's first in 36. GVA has been on stellar form, though, and many believe the Olympic champion would have won last Sunday's Tour of Flanders had he not crashed with Peter Sagan on the Kwaremont.

That break has come to nothing and we now have two riders out in front: Jasha Sutterlin (Movistar) and Cyril Lemoine (Cofidis). They have 10 seconds but it's clear to say that they're not going to hold on for long unless they're joined by more bodies.

Kenneth Vanbilsen of Cofidis is in this small leading group, while the Cannondale riders are Paddy Bevin and William Clarke. But it looks like they're going to be reeled in very soon.

Two more riders have joined the leaders so we have 10 out ahead now but the gap is the same in seconds, so it's very much touch and go for them. One of those riders who joined is Alexis Gougeard of Ag2R-La Mondiale.

That leading group is slowly being reeled in, with a handful of riders trying to bridge over but the gaps still very slight.

Just remember that the first of those 29 cobbled sectors does not come until the riders have taken down 97km - so that's with 160km remaining. From that point, those sectors come thick and fast. This tweet says it all... including the odd typo here and there.

Eight riders have opened up a small gap with a fierce chase going on behind to bridge over. Cannondale have two riders in this group - and three right on the back of the peloton, book-ending this race nicely.

We've had numerous attempts from riders to break clear in these opening kilometres but so far nothing has stuck. The latest dig comes from Direct Energie, who have a good track record in this race getting riders in the first move...

And they're off! Christian Prudhomme waves the flag from the car and the race is under way... Expect a fierce battle to get in the break today.

The popular narrative today is for Belgium's Tom Boonen (Quick-Step Floors) to win a record-breaking fifth Paris-Roubaix crown in his final professional race. The 36-year-old, who finished runner up to Mat Hayman last year, retires from the sport after today's race - the 42 monument of his illustrious career.

The big news - which isn't news, really, because we knew it all along - is that the sun is out in northern France and there isn't a cloud in the sky. That means that we'll have a dry Paris-Roubaix for the 11th year running. And together with a favourable tailwind that's why today's start was put back 20 minutes: because the organisers feel that today's race could well be a quick one.

The riders have rolled out of Compiegne and are currently soft-pedalling through the neutral zone ahead of the official start. Here's the view from the man behind race radio...

Today's race is 257km long and features 55km of cobbles across 29 sectors. In the words of the official race Twitter handle, Bring it on!