Who can stop Boonen?

[jens_attacks]

mr. mur de huy will stop him
mr. cauberg has no chance facing tommeke though

Boonen to target Amstel Gold Race after Flanders/Roubaix double

Read more: http://www.velonation.com/News/ID/1...ter-FlandersRoubaix-double.aspx#ixzz1rehPhb8P

now that would be legendary!
also chavanel will be a powerhouse here after the big disapointment,last sunday.

 

[Panda Claws]

mr. mur de huy will stop him
mr. cauberg has no chance facing tommeke though

Boonen to target Amstel Gold Race after Flanders/Roubaix double

Read more: http://www.velonation.com/News/ID/1...ter-FlandersRoubaix-double.aspx#ixzz1rehPhb8P

now that would be legendary!
also chavanel will be a powerhouse here after the big disapointment,last sunday.

Let's wait and see what Gilbert does tomorrow. If Gilbert is decent then there is no way he can lose the Cauberg sprint.

 

[ccyclo]

Hope Sky duo Nordhaug and Henao will perform well in the Ardenne classics - they both did some good racing in the basque country

 

[Spine Concept]

Pozzato's season is over, so we'll have to wait till next year to see if he truly is a changed man

No kidding, that's why I said ''in the races that suit him''. To me he has already made big strides, especially the way he rode at RvV.

 

[El Pistolero]

No kidding, that's why I said ''in the races that suit him''. To me he has already made big strides, especially the way he rode at RvV.

That post was not directed towards you? Just my opinion about Pippo. He rode like a headless chicken in Paris-Roubaix, he's not a changed man yet

 

[Spine Concept]

That post was not directed towards you? Just my opinion about Pippo. He rode like a headless chicken in Paris-Roubaix, he's not a changed man yet

Well you did not quote anyone and I was the one who mentioned his changed attitude... Anyway, he made one crucial mistake in PR; not sticking with Boonen and Terpstra. That, to me, does not nullify his great showing at the Ronde. We don't have to share the same opinion of course. We rarely do anyway.

 

[El Pistolero]

Well you did not quote anyone and I was the one who mentioned his changed attitude... Anyway, he made one crucial mistake in PR; not sticking with Boonen and Terpstra. That, to me, does not nullify his great showing at the Ronde. We don't have to share the same opinion of course. We rarely do anyway.

He still didn't attack once in the final 13km and he was going for the sprint again in Paris-Roubaix according to some of his pre-race interviews. There's something wrong with his tactics, that can't be denied. He shouldn't rely on his sprint against Tom Boonen... Especially after just having been beaten the week before...

All I'm saying is: he's not a changed man yet.

I just read he's going to take start in the Amstel Gold Race. Good, another opportunity!

 

[DirtyWorks]

I believe that in RVV and PR that a lot is about the luck which comes in the form of crashes and punctures.

So what can stop Boonen? Crashes or punctures.

+1

Sky has the riders as shown by their chase in P-R. But tactics need to work out better for them and they can't be towing a certain sprinter around...

If Cancellara were healthy, he doesn't have a team to help him win.

Boom is 2012's best chance at cracking the mighty Boonen. But, someone (maybe Boom, maybe his DS) is very calculating as shown by the timing of his attacks in P-R. I think that tendency might not work out well for Rabo. Still, I think the Rabo squad has the goods.

Talk is cheap, so I hope there's a Europecar upset in the near future. Turgot's second was as big a story as Boonen's.

While nothing is going to stop Boonen in 2012, in 2013 what might stop Boonen is if his team doctor goes back to Gilbert's team.

 

[El Pistolero]

Take it to the clinic.

And Cancellara doesn't need a team to win? Really now... When did he prove that? In 2011 perhaps? I don't think so...

 

[Michele]

Let's wait and see what Gilbert does tomorrow. If Gilbert is decent then there is no way he can lose the Cauberg sprint.

This sentence has been repeated thousands of times since last winter.

 

[avantage]

All things being equal I can't see Cancellara win Roubaix against Boonen.
They had finished together in 2008. Fabian tried several attacks no to avail.
A fit Boonen is able to follow anybody on the cobbles.

Of course mechanicals/crashes can put him out of contention.
Or tactical errors, but he will not let Fabian ride away anytime soon, you could bet on that.

In Flanders Fabian can drop him, no question about that.
Altough what he did in 2010 was against a not so super Boonen. (Quite possibly it was his worst season)

Anyhow, the coulda/woulda/shoulda makes waiting for next year all the more exciting.

 

[Panda Claws]

All things being equal I can't see Cancellara win Roubaix against Boonen.
They had finished together in 2008. Fabian tried several attacks no to avail.
A fit Boonen is able to follow anybody on the cobbles.

Of course mechanicals/crashes can put him out of contention.
Or tactical errors, but he will not let Fabian ride away anytime soon, you could bet on that.

In Flanders Fabian can drop him, no question about that.
Altough what he did in 2010 was against a not so super Boonen. (Quite possibly it was his worst season)

Anyhow, the coulda/woulda/shoulda makes waiting for next year all the more exciting.

I agree with you expect about the 2010 Boonen bit.


2010 Boonen was monstrously good.

 

[DirtyWorks]

And Cancellara doesn't need a team to win?

I think we agree Cancellara needs a team. Desperately.

Maybe I didn't write it clearly enough. It wouldn't be the first time!

 

[El Pistolero]

I think we agree Cancellara needs a team. Desperately.

Maybe I didn't write it clearly enough. It wouldn't be the first time!

Nope, misread your post, my bad!

 

[Spine Concept]

He still didn't attack once in the final 13km and he was going for the sprint again in Paris-Roubaix according to some of his pre-race interviews. There's something wrong with his tactics, that can't be denied. He shouldn't rely on his sprint against Tom Boonen... Especially after just having been beaten the week before...

All I'm saying is: he's not a changed man yet.

I just read he's going to take start in the Amstel Gold Race. Good, another opportunity!

I'm not getting into a perpetual back and forth about this. I think he only made one crucial mistake in P-R which is material enough for doubters to crucify him again. I choose to believe that he had one brain-fart moment and that's that. People say many things in pre-race interviews, everything can be seen as a tactical move. Who's to say what would have happened in parctice, Pozatto would have to be incredibly dense to rely on his sprint versus Boonen. One thing's for sure, he seems much more determined and it showed in RvV. Everyone has a take on it, evidently, this is mine. I never said he was a completely changed man, just that he has adjusted his attitude towards racing which aids in the eventual complete conversion you are talking about.

 

[avantage]

>2010 Boonen was monstrously good.

Well, indeed, you're right he was strong. (His best San Remo result's year)
He was just missing the wins, so looking at his palmares it appears he was not in top form. Perhaps it was just others were even better.

 

[Dekker_Tifosi]

Aside from the obvious (Cancellara)

In RVV - Peter Sagan, the guy is 22 and already at an incredible level as seen in this years Flanders. He has the speed in a sprint as well..He can beat Boonen in the future (in RVV). Sep Vanmarcke obviously, if he peaks for Flanders.
In PR - this is harder. But I would say Boom if he keeps improving. And Phinney who didn't do bad at all this year. But they still both have to improve a lot. And again Sep Vanmarcke as the most obvious one if he peaks later.

 

[El Pistolero]

Without bad luck I fail to see how Boom could ever defeat him at Paris-Roubaix to be honest. Otherwise it will be time to retire me thinks.

Sep Vanmarcke was facing a Boonen who wasn't in peak form at the Omloop, I wouldn't look too much in it.

Of course all these youngsters will some day defeat Boonen when he's too old, but that's besides the point.

 

[Spine Concept]

Without bad luck I fail to see how Boom could ever defeat him at Paris-Roubaix to be honest. Otherwise it will be time to retire me thinks.

Sep Vanmarcke was facing a Boonen who wasn't in peak form at the Omloop, I wouldn't look too much in it.

Of course all these youngsters will some day defeat Boonen when he's too old, but that's besides the point.

I don't disagree with you, but I am very interested in next year. Boom had a difficult lead up to both races and he still went pretty well in P-R. Going by his last tweet he seems really determined to win next year. His words, not mine.

 

[El Pistolero]

I don't disagree with you, but I am very interested in next year. Boom had a difficult lead up to both races and he still went pretty well in P-R. Going by his last tweet he seems really determined to win next year. His words, not mine.

He can definitely win the race in the future. A Paris-Roubaix without bad luck is simply not a Paris-Roubaix

It will not be easy though, he had nothing left for the sprint this year. A bit embarrassing to get beaten by Ballan and Flecha in the sprint. Ask Hoste

 

[Dekker_Tifosi]

Without bad luck I fail to see how Boom could ever defeat him at Paris-Roubaix to be honest. Otherwise it will be time to retire me thinks.

Sep Vanmarcke was facing a Boonen who wasn't in peak form at the Omloop, I wouldn't look too much in it.

Of course all these youngsters will some day defeat Boonen when he's too old, but that's besides the point.

Boom is much younger. And you don't know when Boonen regresses

 

[Spine Concept]

He can definitely win the race in the future. A Paris-Roubaix without bad luck is simply not a Paris-Roubaix

It will not be easy though, he had nothing left for the sprint this year. A bit embarrassing to get beaten by Ballan and Flecha in the sprint. Ask Hoste

According to him he cramped up during the sprint. clicky. That doesn't mean he would have won that group sprint though, but he probably at least wouldn't have finished last.

 

[Hugo Koblet]

Another young prospect to keep an eye on is Adrien Petit and of course Guillaume Van Keirsbulck. I also think that Kwiatkowski could develop into a good rider for Paris-Roubaix. But of course this thread is about those who's capable of beating Boonen, and none of these are and probably wont be for the next few years at least.

 

[El Pistolero]

According to him he cramped up during the sprint. clicky. That doesn't mean he would have won that group sprint though, but he probably at least wouldn't have finished last.

But Cancellara also cramped up during the sprint of 2008.

 

[EvansIsTheBest]

Stonger than Terpstra, better than Boom, more fearsome than Langeveld, the Dutch have yet to unleash their biggest threat to Boonen, the one who will put an end to his winning streak, the mighty Cauberg