The Cycliste Moderne, April 11, 2005

Wow.

The 2005 Paris-Roubaix will be remembered as the coronation of the “Young Lion of Flanders,” Tom Boonen. Becoming only the third man in twenty-seven years to win both the Ronde van Vlaanderen and Paris-Roubaix in the same year, Boonen showed the tactical awareness that many cycling greats only developed after the age of thirty. Boonen, at twenty-four, could be the first Flemish rider in a generation to actually live up to the expectations of his countrymen. Following his dominating victory last week at the Ronde van Vlaanderen, Boonen obtained the same result with a different tactical approach.

The weather for the 103rd Paris-Roubaix was not as bad as had been feared. There was a strong northwestern wind, but the expected rain held off until late in the day and even then was short-lived. That said, there was the typical carnage that occurs when you mix cobbles, narrow farm roads, and anxious cyclists. Pre-race favorite Peter van Petegem went down with 133km in a crash that took down his teammate Tom Steels and resulted in the abandonment of Australian sprinter Allan Davis (Liberty Seguros). Davitamon-Lotto brought their leader back to the peleton, however van Petegem ultimately retired with an injured wrist and hip.

Prior to van Petegem’s crash, the strong teams were where you would expect them: in large numbers at the front, with their leaders at the head of the peleton. Quick.Step, Discovery, Fassa Bortolo, and T-Mobile were all at the front with about 85km to go, chasing the lead group that was about five minutes up the road. In a move reminiscent of last week, a small group of powerful riders rolled off the front not to be seen by the peleton for the rest of the trip. At 80km to go, Tom Boonen and his teammate Fillipo Pozzato (Quick.Step), CSC’s Danish hardman Lars Michaelsen, last year’s champion Magnus Backstedt (Liquigas), Juan Antonion Flecha and Fabian Cancellara (Fassa Bortolo) and Discovery’s George Hincapie rode away from the peleton during the Hornaing-Wandignies section of cobbles.

Cancellara and Pozzato were quickly dropped, but the remaining five worked together to close the gap on the leading group and put distance on the chasing group led by T-Mobile. It was amazing how well and how hard Boonen, Michaelsen, Backstedt, Flecha and Hincapie worked together to ensure their escape would succeed. Any of those five men would have been worthy victors for Paris-Roubaix. However, Boonen, Flecha and Hincapie gradually pulled away over the last 60km working together right up to the entry to the Roubaix Velodrome.

Boonen sprinted away from Hincapie and Flecha in the last 200m of the race. Hincapie had the perfect day but is just not as fast as Boonen. Hincapie was obviously disappointed with finishing second; however, it is the best finish ever by an American at Paris-Roubaix. Although there has been much grousing by American cycling fans that Hincapie should move to a team that gives him better support in the classics, clearly, Discovery has been one of the strongest teams this spring in the classics. He has had teammates with him at decisive moments of the spring races. Hincapie did not lose today because of poor team tactics or bad luck; he lost because Tom Boonen was faster and stronger.

Flecha is not as fast as either Boonen or Hincapie but he does have the ability to attack after long distances and ride away from less skilled cyclists. Flecha finished second at last week’s Gent-Wevelgem and third place today marks him as a strong man for the future. His move from a Spanish team to Fassa Bortolo will put him in a position to win classics and semi-classics in the future.

Contrary to what many American cycling fans think, Hincapie has never been a pure sprinter. He has neither the strength nor the explosiveness of Zabel or Cippolini. He does have incredible strength and stamina and is an all around respected rider. (I will share my family’s encounter with George Hincapie in a future issue.) He has had some unlucky moments in the past and some significant tactical lapses by his team, which has prevented him from having more success.

Moreover, riding for US Postal Service limited his opportunities for success throughout the season. Hincapie peaks for the classics and then turns his focus to helping Lance Armstrong win the Tour. As the only rider to have been with Armstrong for all six of his victories, Hincapie has had to subordinate his own ambitions to his team leader. That does affect his speed and his results. However, during the Tour de France, you will not see van Petegem, Boonen, Wesseman, Backstedt, or any of the other strong classics riders leading their team GC leader as they cross over the summit of Category 1 climbs. The photo of Hincapie and Armstrong crossing the finish of the team time trial during the 4th Stage of the 2004 Tour says plenty about Hincapie’s role on the team and the satisfaction he has gotten from Armstrong’s six wins.

Why Team Tactics Still Matter Part Deux

T-Mobile lost Andreas Klier to injury during Gent-Wevelgem and probably lost Paris-Roubaix at that very moment. Notwithstanding their large numbers at the front, including Steffen Wesemann and Eric Zabel, T-Mobile let the winning break roll away and could not bring it back. T-Mobile’s only successes this season have come when Andreas Klier stuck to Boonen’s wheel at the Ronde van Vlaanderen and the E3 Prijs Vlaanderen and finished second both times. T-Mobile is in for a very long and unproductive season unless its GC riders step up with some major stage race victories this summer.

Roubaix Hardman

The “Hard Man Award” for the race goes to Roger Hammond of Discovery. Hammond finished third last year and hoped to improve this year. After spraining his ankle and fracturing his thumb during Gent-Wevelgem last week, when he hit a post on the race route, Hammond was not confirmed as a member of Discovery’s Paris-Roubaix lineup until Saturday. He stayed at the front with Discovery supporting Hincapie until the decisive split happened. Ultimately, he was not classified on the day (technically disqualified at the end) due to the fact that he finished outside the time limit for the race (failed to finish the race within specified amount of time of the winner). Hammond did finish the 259km course in just under seven hours. After almost 60km of cobbles, I can only imagine how his broken hand feels tonight.