Boonen’s Adieu

There's no argument, Tom Boonen is this era’s greatest classics rider. As great as Fabian Cancellara was, he was no match for Boonen and Boonen’s records speaks volumes.

Tonight (last night) will be his last race, the last race he will pedal in anger, as the great commentator Phil Liggett used to say.

Boonen will finally be a private citizen Monday morning, and nothing can change that. I remember a chubby faced Boonen who raced his first Paris-Roubaix with US Postal (Lance Armstrong’s team) as a neo-pro (cycling doesn’t use the term “rookie”) back in 2002 to support George Hincapie. Instead, he finished third, behind another Belgian legend he would follow, the great Johann Museeuw.

Along the way, he would become World Champion (2005), win Flanders three times, Paris-Roubaix four times and a hundred more races in the past 15 years. He is the poster boy of Belgian sports with his boyish looks and infectious charm. I’ve never seen Boonen nonplussed in a race like a Cancellara or a Peter Sagan. He would gladly do the work required of a try champion. I have never seen him hesitate to push the pace or shrink from any responsibility. I think he knew what his responsibility was and he knew it was bigger than his responsibility during a race.

However, pressure from living in a showbiz aquarium resulted in a cocaine positive although no sanction was made as the judge said that his trial by publicity was more than enough. He admitted that his alcohol problem led him to use cocaine.

But all of those things will  be placed in the back burner as Belgium’s favorite son will ride for the last time a race so dear to the Belgian tifosis, Paris-Roubaix. Tommeke, as he is fondly called by  his Belgian fans, will not only try to write a fairy tale ending but also attempt to break the tie of most wins in Paris-Roubaix.

Roger de Vlaeminck and Boonen hold the record for most wins in Paris-Roubaix with four each. This is Boonen’s 5th and last time to keep the record for a long time and although he is not the bookmaker’s favorite, he is the favorite in everyone’s heart to take win the cobble trophy.

Everybody knows that de Vlaeminck doesn’t hold Boonen’s achievements in high regard telling folks that Boonen doesn’t deserve to equal his record saying that cycling is softer now compared to his racing days. For this reason alone, I want Boonen to smash the mouth and the record of de Vlaeminck.

Tonight’s Paris-Roubaix is 257km long with 55km of ancient paves scattered in between. It’s the hardest race in cycling pro’s career that Chris Froome hasn’t attempted it even once. The favorite is of course Peter Sagan and followed by Greg Van Avermaet. If this was an ordinary Paris-Roubaix, I’d use my head and pick Sagan hands down, but today, I’m using my heart and emotion to pick the winner.

You know who he is.