Apr 2, 2006
The Boonen Era
Just as the Armstrong Era came to a close last year in July, the Tom Boonen Era is in full swing. The total domination of the Belgian rider and his team are THE story of 2006. Boonen’s path to a second consecutive Tour of Flanders looked easy. His Quick Step team formed a “Treno Blu” as if it were a Tour de France sprint stage. This time Boonen had the full support of recent Milan San Remo winner Pozzato, Olympic Champ Paolo Bettini and Classics specialist Serge Baguet. This trio gave Quick Step quite an advantage moving into the decisive kilometers.
The Koppenburg proved a race killer for many in the race who found themselves using the walking features of their cleats. Unlike Jessica Simpson, their shoes were not made for walking. It was an amazing site to see Pro Cyclist walking up the steep cobbled climb of the Koppenburg. This is what the Classics are all about.
In the decisive break, all of the major favorites were present. Discovery Channel had Leif Hoste and George Hincapie who looked to be in great form. Trouble is that Boonen was in legendary form. After Leif Hoste attacked, Boonen quickly answered which put Hincapie’s bid for a win in difficulty since the American could not attack a break with his own teammate. Plus, with a few Quick-Step guys in the break, they would do all they could to slow the chase down.
The finale showed that Hoste was in good form himself. Even though he is Belgian, the Belgian crowd would probably have reacted to a Hoste win about as well as if Alessandro Ballan showed up first across the finish line. The crowd was hungry for a Boonen win. After all of the hype it takes a man who can handle extreme pressures to come through especially when wearing the Rainbow jersey which until this year has been a curse on all who wore it.
Next the pressure cooker will turn up another notch as talk focuses on Boonen Flanders-Roubaix double repeat.