Boonen's bid for the records

[Parrulo]

will boonen beat those record of wins for the ronde and roubaix?

if he does combined with his E3 record and possible GW ( hasn't he equaled the record of wins there as well?) he could be considered the greatest cobbled rider ever.

 

[luckyboy]

Yeah, he's still only 31. I think he will be outright holder of one of them, at least.

 

[Kvinto]

Hard to say, he can of course, but whether he will? I dunno. If he wins on Sunday, I'd say he is closer to beating the Roubaix record. But then again, these are unpredictable races, the strongest doesn't necessarily win.

 

[Machu Picchu]

he can but with the strength of competition that will be working against him it sure won't be easy, especially if OPQS can't maintain such a strong squad to support him next year.

I hope to see him at least equal both records.

 

[Caruut]

If he wins on Sunday, I think he will do it. If not, I think he'll only do RVV.

 

[Nick C.]

If he wins on Sunday, I think he will do it. If not, I think he'll only do RVV.

My thoughts as well. 2 PR wins is a tough thing to bank on, given that he has 5-7 years left.

 

[EvansIsTheBest]

For the best cobbled specialist of all time, he might already be there. Only Museeuw has as many Ronde and P-R combined and Boonen records in the "smaller" cobbled classics is as if not more outstanding than Museeuw's. In any case if he wins Sunday he will be in front of Museeuw himself.
What is even more incredible is that he is tied for the record of GW wins despite not riding there from 2005 to 2010 (in fact he won the last 3 times he participated in 2004, 2011 and 2012). How many could he have won if GW had not been so close to the GP E3 for the best part of his career ?
Also he is only 31 which is sill quite young for a cobbled specialist (Museeuw was more than 36 years old when he won his 3rd P-R) so he has a few good years left to get these records and it would be surprising if he didn't (Cancellara won't get unlucky everytime and Sagan is going to be a tough nut to crack at Flanders in the next years though).

 

[The Hitch]

Well he is going to be the first none gt rider, none tdf winner in fact, to win the velo d'or twice

But he won't break neither the Roubaix nor Flanders record unless Cancellara crashes again.

 

[El Pistolero]

Well he is going to be the first none gt rider, none tdf winner in fact, to win the velo d'or twice

But he won't break neither the Roubaix nor Flanders record unless Cancellara crashes again.

Roubaix suits Boonen a lot, we didn't see a duel in 2010 and 2011 between him and Cancellara. But the Ronde suits him a lot less and yet he has won it 3 times already. In Roubaix he will be the one and only master again.

I hope he wins the Vélo d'Or though. Will be tough, but if he wins Roubaix, he'll have it in the bag.

 

[Parrulo]

Well he is going to be the first none gt rider, none tdf winner in fact, to win the velo d'or twice

But he won't break neither the Roubaix nor Flanders record unless Cancellara crashes again.

ya because boonen has never, and never will win a cobbled monument that cancellara rides as well

this idea that cancellara is so superior to boonen that boonen only wins due to cancellara's miss fortune is hilarious, even more hilarious if we take into consideration that despite boonen only being a few months older then canc he has a much better palmares then canc.

 

[The Hitch]

Roubaix suits Boonen a lot, we didn't see a duel in 2010 and 2011 between him and Cancellara. But the Ronde suits him a lot less and yet he has won it 3 times already. In Roubaix he will be the one and only master again.

Yes he will win Roubaix this year. But to break the record he has to win it in 13 or 14 and Cancellara isnt out of those.

 

[El Pistolero]

But the thing is, Cancellara has never been able to drop Boonen on the pavé of Nord Pas de Calais. Or as we say it in Dutch: on the kasseien.

 

[Parrulo]

Yes he will win Roubaix this year. But to break the record he has to win it in 13 or 14 and Cancellara isnt out of those.

iirc canc was also riding roubaix in 05, 08 and 09 and he was also riding the ronde in 05, 06 and 12( not boonen's fault he fell just like it wasn't canc's fault boonen fell last year in roubaix)

 

[Wallace]

iirc canc was also riding roubaix in 05, 08 and 09 and he was also riding the ronde in 05, 06 and 12( not boonen's fault he fell just like it wasn't canc's fault boonen fell last year in roubaix)

This is just a technical difference--since the result is the same as falling--but Boonen didn't crash out of Paris-Roubaix last year, he had "technical difficulties" with his Eddy Merckx bike. The chain slipped of the chainrings and jammed up into the frame, and by the time he got it fixed the front group was long gone and too far away for him to ever catch. Hence the Specialized bike he's riding this year.

 

[EvansIsTheBest]

This is just a technical difference--since the result is the same as falling--but Boonen didn't crash out of Paris-Roubaix last year, he had "technical difficulties" with his Eddy Merckx bike. The chain slipped of the chainrings and jammed up into the frame, and by the time he got it fixed the front group was long gone and too far away for him to ever catch. Hence the Specialized bike he's riding this year.

Boonen crashed twice trying to bridge back afterwards, though.

 

[mr. tibbs]

I think Hitch may be right about Flanders. In 2010, we saw an in-form Boonen vs. an in-form Cancellara one-on-one there, and Cancellara was the better man. I do think they were both exceptionally strong that day--recall that even while Cancellara was gaining time on him, Boonen was still gaining time on everyone else. If Cancellara doesn't miss-time his attack (2011), it's hard to look past him for Flanders.

But Roubaix's a different story. I don't see Cancellara dropping an in-form Boonen there, especially after 2010. Boonen knows he can't play Lord Tommeke over the peloton anymore. Plus, if this OPQS juggernaut stays together for a few more years, they'll have plenty of firepower to chase the Swiss down if he does find a gap. Roubaix is Boonen's race.

 

[The Hitch]

iirc canc was also riding roubaix in 05, 08 and 09 and he was also riding the ronde in 05, 06 and 12( not boonen's fault he fell just like it wasn't canc's fault boonen fell last year in roubaix)

you seem to think riders remain the same throughout their careers. Boonen was better than Cancellara yes.

But Cancellara has improved to way beyond what Boonen has been. He is now the best.

 

[thehog]

I think Hitch may be right about Flanders. In 2010, we saw an in-form Boonen vs. an in-form Cancellara one-on-one there, and Cancellara was the better man. I do think they were both exceptionally strong that day--recall that even while Cancellara was gaining time on him, Boonen was still gaining time on everyone else. If Cancellara doesn't miss-time his attack (2011), it's hard to look past him for Flanders.

.

Huh? In form Boonen in 2010? He was recovering from some fairly severe personal problems and substance abuse issues. He wasn’t on top form but not bad all the same.

 

[Parrulo]

you seem to think riders remain the same throughout their careers. Boonen was better than Cancellara yes.

But Cancellara has improved to way beyond what Boonen has been. He is now the best.

funny enough despite being so much better then every1 else cancellara will now be on his second year in a row without a monument win. for some1 that is way beyond boonen who himself is beyond every1 else in the peloton that seems rather weird.

but i guess he is just unlucky.

cancellara and boonen are equals with canc having the edge for the ronde and boonen for roubaix simple as that if you really think cancellara is much superior to boonen then you are insane.

 

[The Hitch]

funny enough despite being so much better then every1 else cancellara will now be on his second year in a row without a monument win. for some1 that is way beyond boonen who himself is beyond every1 else in the peloton that seems rather weird.

but i guess he is just unlucky.

cancellara and boonen are equals with canc having the edge for the ronde and boonen for roubaix simple as that if you really think cancellara is much superior to boonen then you are insane.

Evans is about to win his 2nd Tour in as many years while Contador hasn't won one since 2009, ergo Cadel is better than Contador as a Tour rider and anyone who thinks Contador is superior to Evans is insane.

Same logic.

 

[Echoes]

For the best cobbled specialist of all time, he might already be there. Only Museeuw has as many Ronde and P-R combined and Boonen records in the "smaller" cobbled classics is as if not more outstanding than Museeuw's. In any case if he wins Sunday he will be in front of Museeuw himself.

(Museeuw was more than 36 years old when he won his 3rd P-R)

Clinic, please !


If Ibarguren wins this, it would definitely be a disaster.

De Vlaeminck is the greatest cobble rider of all time. There's only one true cobble race (even truer in his days). He won it 4 times, could've won at least 6, punctured only 3 times, retired only once (while he could've been 2nd) and the 13 times he finished, he was never worse than 7th.

Legend says he had some sort of a pendulum inside his shoulders. He was the only rider of his team to keep his wheels unbroken.

And he had all the big TT engine from the GT's against him, while Boonen only has to deal with Cancellara (and yet, he only beat him once).

 

[Flamin]

Huh? In form Boonen in 2010? He was recovering from some fairly severe personal problems and substance abuse issues. He wasn’t on top form but not bad all the same.

Of course Boonen was in top form. Tommeke himself said he was better in spring 2010 than last Sunday. Just saying.

 

[ilrumne]

Well, Cancellara appears to be a bit stronger, especially in Flanders. I fail to see how Boonen would be able to drop Cancellara in both Flanders and Roubaix. (Since the last couple of years) However, He's faster, making him not the strongest, but probably the best cobbles classics cyclist.
To say it in other words: if Cancellara didn't crash on sunday, he would have had a big chance to win Flanders, but in Roubaix Boonen is imo the top favourite, with or without Cancellara.

 

[Wallace]

funny enough despite being so much better then every1 else cancellara will now be on his second year in a row without a monument win. for some1 that is way beyond boonen who himself is beyond every1 else in the peloton that seems rather weird.

but i guess he is just unlucky.

cancellara and boonen are equals with canc having the edge for the ronde and boonen for roubaix simple as that if you really think cancellara is much superior to boonen then you are insane.

And Boonen just now came back from two years without a monument win. Things can suddenly change. And if Cancellara manages to get a smarter, stronger team, and has some tactical cards to play, then he'll be back to being that almost impossible guy to beat. That's a big "if" though.

 

[Parrulo]

Evans is about to win his 2nd Tour in as many years while Contador hasn't won one since 2009, ergo Cadel is better than Contador as a Tour rider and anyone who thinks Contador is superior to Evans is insane.

Same logic.

you are so blinded by your cancellara fanboyism that you didn't even realized i was actually using your own logic.

you are the one that claims cancellara is much superior too boonen based on the last 2 seasons (2010/2011) because if we take the previous seasons into account they are about equals with maybe even a small advantage to boonen (better palmares)

you and many other posters pretty much buried boonen because cancellara was superior on those 2 seasons completely ignoring all the seasons before that and now boonen is having a great season with already 1 monument win and several classics and cancellara is on his second year without a monument win, good performances clearly don't count as many said boonen was past it despite his second places in MSR and the ronde and his good performance in roubaix in 2010 and neither does bad luck because not many people seemed to be bothered by boonen's mechanicals on PR and knee problems last year so using your own logic of only taking recent performances to judge a rider because you know . . . riders mature and progress and stuff, boonen is better then cancellara who is past his best years.