The best ever Northern Classics season?

[Armchair Cyclist]

Boonen has won, in 2 weeks, E3 Prijs Vlaanderen - Harelbeke, Gent - Wevelgem, Ronde van Vlaanderen and Paris - Roubaix : have we witnessed the best ever Northern Classics season by a single rider?

Anything to compare?

And do these 4 wins trump the Ardennes treble of Philbert last year?

 

[will10]

A Flanders - Roubaix double is always special, but not quite on a par with an Ardennes treble.

 

[Red Rick]

This is better than winning BP, AGR, FW and LBL. Gilbert basically won 4 uphill sprint's, he didn't make one solo

 

[Panda Claws]

This is better than winning BP, AGR, FW and LBL. Gilbert basically won 4 uphill sprint's, he didn't make one solo

A win is still a win. Boonen bascially won 3 sprints too. He didn't attack either.

 

[Wallace]

What's the better race, P-R or L-B-L? This would kind of sort of maybe perhaps be a matter of opinion? Still, As excellent a race as Amstel is, it still isn't one of the monuments, so two monuments + 2 semi-classics > one monument, one almost-monument + two semis.

 

[DominicDecoco]

Boonen bascially won 3 sprints too. He didn't attack either.

He didn't what?!?!...

 

[Kwibus]

Prepare for an endless discussion with a lot of whining.

 

[Bavarianrider]

Norther double >>>> Ardennes Tripple

Not even debatable

 

[Netserk]

2 monuments, 1 classic and 1 semi vs. 1 monument, 1 classic and 2 semi

Almost as stupid a question as gilbert 2011 vs boonen 2005

 

[Bavarianrider]

What's the better race, P-R or L-B-L? This would kind of sort of maybe perhaps be a matter of opinion? Still, As excellent a race as Amstel is, it still isn't one of the monuments, so two monuments + 2 semi-classics > one monument, one almost-monument + two semis.

 

[DirtyWorks]

Boonen has won, in 2 weeks, E3 Prijs Vlaanderen - Harelbeke, Gent - Wevelgem, Ronde van Vlaanderen and Paris - Roubaix : have we witnessed the best ever Northern Classics season by a single rider?

Anything to compare?

And do these 4 wins trump the Ardennes treble of Philbert last year?

Today's race was epic. The Europecar 2nd place was just the kind of upset I enjoy. As epic as today's win was, this seems like Mapei all over again. And we now know how THAT happened. It's a shame too.

 

[Armchair Cyclist]

To answer my own question, from an historical perspective, I guess the nearest was Rik van Looy in 1962, winning the cobbled treble of Gent-Wevelgem, Ronde van Vlaanderen and Paris-Roubaix: he also had a batch of 6 day victories that year.

 

[Lanark]

The Ronde van Vlaanderen - Paris-Roubaix double has been done 11 times, the Gold Race, Fleche Liège treble only twice.

It's not really a fair comparison though, the Gold Race is much younger, and didn't have much prestige in it's early days. Still, the double has been done 4 times in the last 10 years. The treble 2 times. I think that doing the treble is more difficult, the number of favorites in those races is much bigger, beating them on 3 occasions is a lot more difficult. I mean, look at today, with Cancellara out and Pozzato getting himself in trouble, the gap with the rest of the field is huge. That's not possible in the Ardennes.

 

[Red Rick]

Norther double >>>> Ardennes Tripple

Not even debatable

I wouldn't say that

 

[Netserk]

The Ronde van Vlaanderen - Paris-Roubaix double has been done 11 times, the Gold Race, Fleche Liège treble only twice.

It's not really a fair comparison though, the Gold Race is much younger, and didn't have much prestige in it's early days. Still, the double has been done 4 times in the last 10 years. The treble 2 times. I think that doing the treble is more difficult, the number of favorites in those races is much bigger, beating them on 3 occasions is a lot more difficult. I mean, look at today, with Cancellara out and Pozzato getting himself in trouble, the gap with the rest of the field is huge. That's not possible in the Ardennes.

I agree, but it isn't 'just' the double, but 4 in a row we have here

 

[Wallace]

Today's race was epic. The Europecar 2nd place was just the kind of upset I enjoy. As epic as today's win was, this seems like Mapei all over again. And we now know how THAT happened. It's a shame too.

I refer you to this list of recent races won by a certain doctor: http://forum.cyclingnews.com/showpost.php?p=836551&postcount=22

Corellation is not causation, but it looks awful. I won't discuss the Clinic angle in this thread.

You shouldn't have discussed it in the first place, but there's nothing like being a self-rightous ***, is there?

 

[Lanark]

I agree, but it isn't 'just' the double, but 4 in a row we have here

True, but I don't think the E3 prijs and Gent-Wevelgem really add that much, but that's mostly because I can't stand Gent-Wevelgem But Boonen and Cancellara won the E3 prijs in 2005 and 2010 as well, so that triple, has been done 3 times in the last 8 years. It still makes the treble more rare (and Gilbert won the Brabantse Pijl as well last year, although that race is not of the same level).

 

[jens_attacks]

this season was pretty much awesome gotta say.too bad tommeke didn't win het nieuwsblad

 

[spalco]

True, but I don't think the E3 prijs and Gent-Wevelgem really add that much, but that's mostly because I can't stand Gent-Wevelgem But Boonen and Cancellara won the E3 prijs in 2005 and 2010 as well, so that triple, has been done 3 times in the last 8 years. It still makes the treble more rare (and Gilbert won the Brabantse Pijl as well last year, although that race is not of the same level).

The comparison though can be made insofar as Boonen won everything he was supposed to win this spring, with the exception of M-SR, which has a different "character" (that would be a truly unique achievement though), just like Gilbert last year. It's not his fault that there aren't more prestigious cobbled races, he can only win what's there.

^^
eta.: ok, and Omloop, forgot about that.

 

[The Hitch]

Palmares wise Boonen clearly.

For those who only care about results theres your answer.

For me though performance matters too.

Boonen relied largely on his team. GW and E3 were controlled for hims o he could win the bunch sprints. RVV he was not the strongest rider in the race, got a bit lucky with Pozzato bringing him back and maybe with the course being easier than before

PR easily the strongest, easily better than any performance Gilbert had last year no question.

But Gilbert last year in the 4 races he won in 10 days was easily the strongest in every one, something Boonen was possibly only in PR this year.

There was never any doubt who was going to win Amstel. He broke the record for the Muur in a race nobody thought he had a snowballs chance in hell of winning.

In all those races Gilbert had his hands in the air way before the finish line, in the first 2 he was looking back with like 200 to go and letting go of the handlebars.

OK LBL may have been lacking in some top challengers - Evans Valverde, but thats nothing compared to Boonen not having to face Cancellara.

Theres also the ROnde where he had a puncture and still got back to get the fastest time up the Kapelmuur in history.

If you take into account his MSR podium and the MSB win, which arent northern classics i know but they are classics and Gilbert was doing that almost 2 months before his ardennes tripple, well i would give it to Gilbert.

 

[Froome19]

Boonen has won, in 2 weeks, E3 Prijs Vlaanderen - Harelbeke, Gent - Wevelgem, Ronde van Vlaanderen and Paris - Roubaix : have we witnessed the best ever Northern Classics season by a single rider?

Anything to compare?

And do these 4 wins trump the Ardennes treble of Philbert last year?

Ardennes was a show of total domination nobody really gave anyone else chance realistically in Liege and La Fleche, Gilbert last season was in a class that only in terms of strength Canc can reach.
Anyway without Cancellara boonen's flanders and Roubaix' wins can never be considered truly domination like Gilbert.

 

[Netserk]

Palmares wise Boonen clearly.

For those who only care about results theres your answer.

For me though performance matters too.

Boonen relied largely on his team. GW and E3 were controlled for hims o he could win the bunch sprints. RVV he was not the strongest rider in the race, got a bit lucky with Pozzato bringing him back and maybe with the course being easier than before

PR easily the strongest, easily better than any performance Gilbert had last year no question.

But Gilbert last year in the 4 races he won in 10 days was easily the strongest in every one, something Boonen was possibly only in PR this year.

There was never any doubt who was going to win Amstel. He broke the record for the Muur in a race nobody thought he had a snowballs chance in hell of winning.

In all those races Gilbert had his hands in the air way before the finish line, in the first 2 he was looking back with like 200 to go and letting go of the handlebars.

OK LBL may have been lacking in some top challengers - Evans Valverde, but thats nothing compared to Boonen not having to face Cancellara.

Theres also the ROnde where he had a puncture and still got back to get the fastest time up the Kapelmuur in history.

If you take into account his MSR podium and the MSB win, which arent northern classics i know but they are classics and Gilbert was doing that almost 2 months before his ardennes tripple, well i would give it to Gilbert.

By the way they won (performance) I would still favour Boonen:

Gilbert basically won agr with a sprint and some work before the sprint, just like Boonen in E3. In lbl he followed the attack of the schlecks and outsprinted them in the end, just like Boonen in RvV. And then there is just F-W vs. PR, where Boonen wins hands down

EDIT: and all the canc talk, well Valverde wasn't there last year

 

[EvansIsTheBest]

The Ronde van Vlaanderen - Paris-Roubaix double has been done 11 times, the Gold Race, Fleche Liège treble only twice.

It's not really a fair comparison though, the Gold Race is much younger, and didn't have much prestige in it's early days. Still, the double has been done 4 times in the last 10 years. The treble 2 times. I think that doing the treble is more difficult, the number of favorites in those races is much bigger, beating them on 3 occasions is a lot more difficult. I mean, look at today, with Cancellara out and Pozzato getting himself in trouble, the gap with the rest of the field is huge. That's not possible in the Ardennes.

As opposed to the stellar field, Gilbert faced last year : Evans injured, Valverde suspended, Contador absent, Vinokourov nowhere to be seen, Kolobnev MIA...
At least Boonen's rivals started most of the races that Boonen won (Cancellara couldn't beat Boonen at neither GW or GP E3 and Pozzato fell short at GW, GP E3 and RVV), whether or not they finish at the end of the day he still beat them.

 

[uphillstruggle]

Part of the problem with this question is that we have never 'really' got to see Boonen and Cancellara go tete-a-tete in full form. This should have been the year but Fabian crashed out.

 

[Dekker_Tifosi]

Norther double >>>> Ardennes Tripple

Not even debatable

haha are you joking?

the field and the competition in the ardennes is about 100x higher than the northern classics. So it's incredibly much harder to pull of the ardennes tripple...