Better Cobblestone rider: Boonen or Cancellara?

[Miburo]

It seems we almost only talk about GT's. Well this should be interesting.

Boonen obviously won more than Canc but that's not all that counts of course

Btw this poll is not indicating that those 2 are the best ever. It's just in who do you think is better between those 2, that's it.

 

[Vino attacks everyone]

At their peaks noone is stronger than Cancellara.
Boonen has been lucky/strong over a much longer time, but no way in hell he can follow a cancellara in top shape.

 

[will10]

Professional cycling ≠ PCM

 

[Vino attacks everyone]

Professional cycling ≠ PCM

on pcm Hushovd wins Flandern and Rubaix way to often rofl

 

[Nilsson]

Boonen, without a doubt. Cancellara is a machine (in general) but not a specific cobble-man: he just rides incredibly hard. Boonen, however, is a true specialist. The way he rides on the cobbles (compared to others, and compared to himself on other surfaces) no one does. It's not a coincidence he won Roubaix (and other cobbled races) multiple times. He's a true specialist.

 

[Dazed and Confused]

Boonen.
The sprint edges the TT capability here.

 

[Dekker_Tifosi]

Cancellara can ride harder on cobbles, but Boonen is the best becaus he is more of a killer and doesn't need to ride away solo

 

[Ryo Hazuki]

everytime cancellara vs boonen. cancellara always won

 

[Miburo]

everytime cancellara vs boonen. cancellara always won

Roubaix '08?

Don't tell me you think Ballan was relevant

Btw the only TRUE versus they had was RVV '10 so yeah...

 

[Ryo Hazuki]

Roubaix '08?

Don't tell me you think Ballan was relevant

Btw the only TRUE versus they had was RVV '10 so yeah...

so yeah, cancellara kicked his *** all the way.

 

[richtea]

Is this the first time anyone has addressed this mysterious issue?

 

[Pippo_San]

Boonen. He was 3rd in the 2002 edition of P-R. 22 years old.
He's just a class act.

Not not say Cancellara isn't, overall the Swiss machine is definitely a better and more enjoyable rider...but Tommeke is really born for those cobbled races.

 

[The Hitch]

Boonen was better, Cancellara is better, so to answer the question who is better, its clearly Cancellara.

Well see though when the odds for RVV and PR come out. Do people really think Boonen will have lower odds than the Canc? Do ya?

 

[Carols]

They are Both Great 50/50 shot, depends on the day who would win...no selection for that so I won't vote.

 

[Parrulo]

Boonen was better, Cancellara is better, so to answer the question who is better, its clearly Cancellara.

Well see though when the odds for RVV and PR come out. Do people really think Boonen will have lower odds than the Canc? Do ya?

yes? boonen won those races last season+has a better team and a better record so why would cancellara have lower odds? because of his performances from 2010?

you say boonen was better but he dominated last season and cancellara's last monument win was in 2010 so why is cancellara better atm when he wasn't won in nearly 3 years?

anyway cancellara is the more complete bike rider but over cobbles boonen is better.

 

[Ryo Hazuki]

maybe because cancellara was injured last year and in 2011, he was a class act

 

[Parrulo]

maybe because cancellara was injured last year and in 2011, he was a class act

being injured happens, it happened to boonen during the preparation for cobbled races in 2011 with several knee problems and crashes.

and he was a class act who lost, wasn't boonen a class act this year as well? i could swear he solo'd for 10k longer then cancellara did in PR 2010 and was the one that started the attacks on omloop, E3 and GW. only race where he rode defensively was on flanders.

should i include "rolleyes" in my post to pretend what your counter argument is, it's so pathetic it shouldn't even be taken in consideration like you like to do?

 

[The Hitch]

being injured happens, it happened to boonen during the preparation for cobbled races in 2011 with several knee problems and crashes.

Well you have to be pretty desperate to rest your entire argument on a 1st vs DNS and a 1st vs DNF.

By the same logic Voeckler is a better climber than Andy Schleck.

 

[Parrulo]

what? you are not even making sense. i don't think ryo was still talking about the odds but why did boonen dominate this year, which seems to be because of cancellara's injury. funny enough i seem to recall cancellara racing both E3 and GW just fine so by the time he got injured at the ronde, the score was already 2-0 for boonen.

but you are right on one thing, i am really desperate to make sure people see my main man tom boonen as the best cobblestone rider, after all his palmares doesn't do it on it's own

at the end of the day it's all about the score board:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lG0Hi-UDUZk

 

[Old School]

Boonen, hands down. Canc has his moments, but Tomke is Top Dawg on the cobbles.

 

[auscyclefan94]

Both at their best, I'd say Boonen just ahead of Cancellara.

 

[The Hitch]

what? you are not even making sense.

What dont you understand?

You tried to argue that Boonen is better because he "dominated last season" and when Ryo gently pointed out to you that Cancellara had been injured you dismissed that with "Boonen was injured in 2011".

So in my post i mocked your use of 2012 as an argument by pointing out that Cancellara DNFd Ronde and DNS'd PR

And whether you like it or not i will continue to label the argument that 2012 proves Boonen to be better as "desperate".

i don't think ryo was still talking about the odds but why did boonen dominate this year, which seems to be because of cancellara's injury. funny enough i seem to recall cancellara racing both E3 and GW just fine so by the time he got injured at the ronde, the score was already 2-0 for boonen.

I wont totally dismiss E3 and GW and chapeau to Boonen for winning this and especially for his awessome performance in Omloop even though he lost the sprint, but if and when you are willing to step above the level of personal attacks, i am confident you will aknowledge that at this level, when comparing the top 2 cobbled riders of a generation, it really is about Paris Roubaix and Ronde van Vlanderen.

Especially since E3 and GW were won in mass sprints whereas neither PR nor RVV went down like that, nor tend to go down like that, so to argue that Boonen is currently a better cobbled rider because he won the warmups which are nowhere near as difficult as the real thing, is imo stretching it

at the end of the day it's all about the score board:

I have already aknowledged that Boonen's wins last decade give him the better palmares on cobbles, but that this does not neccesarily give him the win in the question who is (as in NOW) the better cobbled rider, anymore than Basso having 2gts on his palmares makes him a better gt rider today than say Froome

To keep shouting that Boonen has the better palmares if we go back to the Lance era, as if its some sort of a game changer, even though this has already been conceded and the flaw in the argument has already been pointed out is, you know the word

desperate

 

[Tinman]

Spartacus because romans rode cobbles clean (oops sorry)

 

[abbaskip]

I think Cancellara is the better cobblestone rider, however this isn't by a large margin. And Boonen is faster.

This means that Boonen can often stay with Cancellara's moves (as the difference between the two isn't large enough for FC to drop TB), and Boonen then out sprints Fabian.

It also depends how much charge is left in Fabian's batteries when it comes time to attack...!!!KIDDING!!! Let's stay calm everyone!

 

[El Pistolero]

2005: Boonen
2006: Boonen
2007: Boonen(easily the strongest in Roubaix, won E3 Prijs and crashed during the Ronde)
2008: Boonen
2009: Boonen
2010: Cancellara
2011: Cancellara
2012: Boonen

Is this supposed to be a contest? Because it really isn't. Boonen has been good year after year and that is more impressive than one great year of Cancellara. And who ever said the 2010 Ronde was their only true battle hasn't been paying much attention. It doesn't count as a true battle when Cancellara gets dropped hard? Or when he gets distanced 30 bike lengths in a sprint?