Boonen injury free and with a better bike

[Parrulo]

when did cancellara become this unbeatable force people make him out to be?

 

[will10]

when did cancellara become this unbeatable force people make him out to be?

2010. That's why he won all the classics in 2011. Wait...

 

[El Pistolero]

when did cancellara become this unbeatable force people make him out to be?

I think Cancellara will not be so good anymore in the classics as he was in 2010 and 2011. Him losing his time trial crown says a lot to me in my opinion.

 

[Panda Claws]

Boonen said that the new RVV course would favor Gilbert because you have to go in the red longer.

I am really hoping for this three-way battle: Cancellara (angry) vs Gilbert (still seemingly unbeatable) and Boonen (renewed).

 

[luckyboy]

Can't see Gilbert winning seeing as there are 4km extra after the final hill. Unless he's in a small group without Cancellara or Boonen in.

Anyway, I think Boonen will win either De Ronde or Roubaix this year.

 

[Ryaguas]

I think Cancellara will not be so good anymore in the classics as he was in 2010 and 2011. Him losing his time trial crown says a lot to me in my opinion.

I was thinking about it the other day and yeah... that could means an end of a cycle... dont know... and BTW Cancellara never looked unbeatable to me dont know why ppl keep saying that = /

Tomeke will be again the force to reckon this year... He is here to dont take prisioners!

 

[theyoungest]

I was thinking about it the other day and yeah... that could means an end of a cycle... dont know... and BTW Cancellara never looked unbeatable to me dont know why ppl keep saying that = /

Tomeke will be again the force to reckon this year... He is here to dont take prisioners!

Cancellara was the strongest in the cobbled classics this year, that's what counts I guess? Not his slightly worse time trials this year.

 

[Thomsena]

Tom is a top lad. Hope he gets somewhere near his level from 2006. Doubt it though.

 

[Panda Claws]

Can't see Gilbert winning seeing as there are 4km extra after the final hill. Unless he's in a small group without Cancellara or Boonen in.

Anyway, I think Boonen will win either De Ronde or Roubaix this year.

You have to keep into account that the tough finale will tire Boonen and Cancellara more than Gilbert. Also, there is now only 9km after the final hill instead of 12km and Gilbert can accelerate on the flat too. Somehow people always seem to forget that.

 

[Ryaguas]

Cancellara was the strongest in the cobbled classics this year, that's what counts I guess? Not his slightly worse time trials this year.

Well his TT wasnt Rodriguez like but for me this could means a change... also He'll have a not so good team for the classics this year... He can be really strong as he was in 2010 but without a good team He will struggle tho cuz no one is going to help him...

 

[Kvinto]

Like him or not, but for the last two seasons Fabian Cancellara is the man to beat on cobbles. The guy is awesome in all the races he targets no matter whether they suit him or not (SanRemo, Olympics, Mendrisio WCRR, Cobbles, TTs, some stage races like Suisse 2009, the bunch sprint in the last Worlds). Of course he does not win it all but he is always impressive within his goals. He’s more than just a time trialist, he has reached all the heights in time trialing and lacks for motivation now. It’s utterly stupid to say Fabian will never be that strong in RVV/PR because he is not the best tter anymore. You may refer to his words before 2011 WC TT that he wants to win it for the 5th time blah, blah, blah, but I remember what he has said many times – that he won enough TTs and prefers to win a RR, and his 3rd place in the bunch sprint 4 days after this is a good proof in my view.

And it’s not me who says Cancellara is/was unbeatable but just you, who seeks for an engine in his bike, and you who says Milan-SanRemo should be more selective because it’s impossible to prevent sprinters from the win on all the same Lungomare Italo Calvino; it’s also Jonathan Vaughters on the Ronde race radio and I guess he was not the only one who thought so and riders who were simply scared of him on cobbles.

But as this thread is about Tom Boonen, I should say before Ronde and Roubaix 2010 Tom was treated as the same cobbled superhuman as Cancellara. Even after Ronde he was treated so, there were Cancellara, Boonen and those who were observing. In 2010 Boonen fell victim to this treatment while in 2011 Cancellara fell victim to his power. I really hope Tornado Tom will come back in 2012, it’s hard to hope on him as a sprinter though it would be awesome because for me he is an instance of what a good sprinter should be (the one who is competitive not only in sprints but on cruel cobbled classics or short tts) but at least RVV/PR need him in his best form…