2012 V-Moment of the Year: Boonen Goes Long
Yes, I know, I have a major thing for Boonen. But come on, wouldn’t you? Look at those guns. Look at that position on the bike. He even makes that ugly Specialized helmet look good. He even makes that ugly Specialized Roubaix look good, come to think of it. And those White Ladies? Kill me now.
Picking the V-Moment of the year is always a tough one, especially in a year when there were so many great moments. In fact, that I’m glad I didn’t get saddled with the Anti-V Moment of the Year Award because it won’t be easy to pick out a loser for that one.
Some of the greatest instants of the season were Johan Vansummeren continuing on after he went through the meat grinder at the Tour. Or Hesjedal hanging tough on the Stelvio to stay close enough to J-Rod to take the win for the first Canuckian Grand Tour at the Giro. Faboo gritting his teeth to finish the Olympic ITT in tears despite a moronic but devastating crash in the Road Race. Gilbert coming back to take a decisive win in the Worlds Road Race after a disastrous season.
Maybe its my man-crush on Boonen, maybe its the fact that we were at the roadside for both events, but two moments stand out as what must have been two of the hardest moments in racing – with the most at stake. One was Boonen riding the Paterberg at the back of the three-man breakaway with Ballan and Potato during the Ronde van Vlaanderen; his gears were jammed and he couldn’t get into his lowest gear on that brutally steep climb. As the group got to the top, Boonen was overgeared and losing ground. Standing in a Flemish field not more than 1000 meteres (as the crow flies) from the Paterberg, I could almost hear his bike cry out in agony as he scraped the bottom of the V-Barrel to hold onto the back of the group.
But that’s not the V-Moment of the year because, in the end, there was only something to be gained by holding on – he had nothing to lose. If he got unhitched from the group, he would have called it training for Roubaix, and gone home feeling good about his chances in the Queen of the Classics.
The V-Moment of the year was instead a moment that wasn’t captured on camera; it was a solitary moment that echoed inside only one man’s heart. It was a moment that must have fluttered through his mind as he came off the secteur of cobbles about 55k from Roubaix, looked around, and noticed that no one was with him. At that moment, he had everything to lose. A wiser man would have sat up and waited for the group, knowing he could conserve his energy and pick his moment later, when the risks were more manageable.
But The V isn’t about sensibility. The V isn’t about planning. The V isn’t about calculation. The V is about making your own luck. The V is about bending the odds to your vvill. The V is about making the race beg you to relent. The 2012 V Moment of the Year was the moment Boonen decided to carry on to Roubaix, alone.
Nice! Does he get a V-Pint
(Pee-Wee Herman voice) “I love that storeee!”
Totally agree. That was fun and agonizing to watch, even on choppy live streaming in a language I don’t understand on Eurosport. Chapeau Boonen.
Glad I’m not the only one that hates those fucking ugly ass specialized helmets.
Can never go wrong with Tommeke for a V-moment. But what up with a pro bike that can’t handle one ride without gears “jamming?”
Two words: Fuckin’ AMEN!!!
Most deserving. A few honorable mentions:
1. Cav at the top of the Stelvio having killed himself to get a chance to finish with the Giro points jersey and how shattered he was to have just missed out. More than any other Cav moment, that won me over.
2. More than 17 minutes after Boonen won Paris-Roubaix, Frederic Guesdon crossed the line, concluding his career. There’s something classy about Marc Madiot encouraging him to come back in 2012 in order to finish his year in Roubaix. And Guesdon finishing outside the time cut, but finishing nonetheless. And having a final shower in his stall.
3. Thomas Voeckler’s pursuit of the dotty jumper. Some riders don’t like his acting, but nobody leaves more of himself on the road every single day than little Tommy V. Entertaining to watch and tactically astute. To quote Edward Pickering’s beautiful essay on Voeckler: “Voeckler races how I like to think I would, if only I had stronger legs and better resistance to pain.”
Rabottini on stage 15 of the Giro gets my vote. God knows only how he found that final kick to take the stage win.
I still get goose bumps thinking about watching that race..
agreed & inspired. cheers!
No V award contender but this is certainly another moment of the year for me, Wiggins taking Olympic TT gold in London. This has also got to be one of the greatest sporting photos of the year, the 5 rings reflecting on the visor. Brilliant.
I thought the moment was a little earlier – when Boonen actually made the 2man break with his teammate Terpstra – and dispensed with his services after maybe 20 seconds.
At the risk of sullying this article with a different slant, there was also a prettysignificant V-indication moment for the likes of an Italian pro whose surname is a musical instrument…
I have to say I both agree and disagree and I know this may be a contentious view but…..
The V moment of the year was indeed not captured on camera…well not at the start…but it turned in to an epic piece of cycling that had me transfixed for the afternoon…I almost had to relieve myself in to a pint glass to avoid missing vital seconds but it is a moment that will go beyond this year and in to many years to come.
I believe Berties breakaway solo on stage 17 of the Vuelta was epic. Yes I know, I know, but this is not a popularity contest and it is not about riders snorting sherbert either. That break would have been epic in anyones book, it was made more so by the fact that he did not really need to do it. His positioning was good and it was an enourmous gamble. I would imagine it started as an attack..(as per normaly Bertie style) and when JRod failed to wake up and smell the coffee Bertie probably thought to himself “Fuck it, let’s have a giggle and see how far this goes”.
For a break away so early to make it to the finish is awesome, for one of the lead contenders to do it is damn right fantastic! This was a turning point in my relationship with the little steak eating caballero…he went from zero to hero in my mind in one afternoon. I am going to give him the benefit of the doubt and assume he was clean, he had after all just come back from his ban and was probably one of the most tested riders in the race…
And as with all myths…the cameras missed it at the crucial moment because it was so early in the day, not only did he catch JRod napping (along with the whole peloton) but he caught the worlds media fast asleep too, he rode away and let his legs to the talking, and that is good enough for me!
O and Frank….you and Boonen need to get a room…this bromance is getting a little too public!
@Marcus scratch that -a certain French rider…
@Deakus Good shout. I’m no fan of the bovril boy, but that was class.
Boonen is da man right enough, but one of the highlights of the year for me was Keisse (another Omega-Pharma lad) taking Stage 7 in the Tour of Turkey, the solo breakaway, the crash, the recovery, the remounting his chain and being oh so cool as the peloton charged towards him…… ‘kin-A !
Yes. Boonen’s P-R ride was straight out of the top drawer. Pure class. The only thing missing was Faboo, who would likely have been crushed but might have made it a better contest.
One moment that sticks in my head was Tony Martin in the Worlds ITT. He was fading as he hit the bottom of the Cauberg with only an 8 second lead over Taylor Phinney already finished. Martin didn’t panic or waver, He held his magnificent stroke on the climb. As the angle relented he made a cool and deliberate shift back to the big ring and then reached right to the bottom of his suitcase of courage over the last 1000 metres to beat Phinney by 5 seconds. At least 1.5 shitloads of V right there.
@strathlubnaig
That was a great moment. Totally excruciating to watch. But it had almost equal amounts of Anti V: A dumb crash then no urgency like he was expecting and waiting to get swallowed up until 300 to go when he decided to give it some. But just about the best racing moment of the year for sure.
Thomas de Gendt. Stelvio. Rides onto the podium.
Fuck Boonen. He looks like the proverbial monkey humping a tennis ball on that bike too.
The Man looks a giant on that bike. I note the comment of “ugly Specialized Roubaix” and can only comment that beauty is in the eye of the beholder or should that be owner. I am Specialized I am Roubaix.
@Deakus I was right with you. Bertie on Stage 17 was epic. I’m not a fan, but that was brilliant.
Anyway, I can get behind Boonen though, it was quite a spring for him. I was with a mate this morning riding trainers and watching P-R 2010, remember Faboo with a rocket in his rear at 50k out and poor Boonen looking shocked and then angry that Flecha, Thor, and Potato wouldn’t help in a chase effort. Then the 2011 failure. It was great to see him say screw it and take it over and make the 2012 edition his own.
Simply because I want to be the first dickwad to say it here: there are some that think the uber-V moment of the year belongs to Travis Tygert.
‘Nads and all that standing up to the bullies etc etc. But let’s save all that shitte for the anti-v moment discussion.
@windy rider
Many are the Specialized Roubaix riders in the Velominati ranks. We are the chosen so have no need to put down lesser frames and so suffer the slings and arrows of those that compensate for their subconscious desire for something better.
Or some such nonsense.
@windy rider
@itburns
I wouldn’t worry about what Frank says about ugly bikes; he rides a Cervelo after all.
@brett
I too ride a Roubaix and find it to be an exceptional bike. Don’t disparage another’s ride unless you have ridden in their shoes, so to speak. If we all thought the same way, there would only be one choice of bike (or at the very least a much more limited selection). So long as the bike is compliant with the Rules does it matter otherwise?
Very nice! But even before looking around and seeing nobody, he had the company of his team mate – I can’t recall whom it was – who stood on his wheel for some time before giving up. At that moment, Boonen just looked back and thought “So sorry buddy, but I have to finish this myself now”.
@Jay
I owned two Roubaixs. And I didn’t write the article. And Cervelos are ugly.
@brett
Well now, the gloves are off:
Saying something is ugly and that it’s a piece of shit (i.e. disparaging it) are two different things. The Subjective vs. the Objective really, no? I hardly doubt Boonen would be winning, much less racing, on a bike that wasn’t world class. But who says world class has to look good?
Boonen makes me wish I was an underage girl at a Belgian rave.
Pure V moment.
However, on that Sunday in May, I had to pull over the car en route to my own road race, to weep. A holy and reverent weep.
Oh, and TSN in its top ten count down of the year included the Reasoned decision, but not our nation’s first Grand Tour. WTF. I may emigrate
@Marko
You have to wonder if the pros want to ride the Roubaix, or if it is a sponsor obligation deal? Cancellara did rock the Domane all year, but that is more aesthetically pleasing.
@Dan_R small consolidation is that Ryder did win the Lionel Conacher for 2012. Plus, without the Leafs to broadcast, TSN has to figure out an alternative way to aggravate the country.
@DerHoggz
I understand that Boonen was pretty key in it’s design. From the first iterations, which were actually POS, to these new ones, he’s been in on the beta. I’m sure though to him, to all of them, it’s merely a tool.
you guys are nuts. the Roubaix is a full on race bike and the ones the pros ride is a damn sexy bike.
Good call, Frank. Boonen didn’t just carry on though. His demonstration of true Rule V form not only left no doubt that he was the hardman of the day, but the image of that domination stayed with us for the rest of the year. Your choice of photo is fitting too: The man is larger than life in our imaginations.
Speaking of the Spesh Roubaix, I road tested one two times and liked it, but went for the Giant Defy ’cause I liked it just a little more.
I’m not familiar with this form or measurement.
@RedRanger
Don’t the pros get one without the massive flagpole/headtube? That is what really gets me about the “endurance” market.
@DerHoggz
nope. looking at the measurements, Specialized uses the same geometry at every price point in the line. The Pros just have the stem slammed, where as Joe Schmo may have a few spacers(just like any other bike.) does the Roubaix have a longer head tube than the same size Tarmac? yes, but thats the point, part of the design.
Trek does have like 3 different geometries on the other hand.
The V moment for me was every moment Marianne Vos was on a bike.
She started the year taking the cyclocross world championship on a very technical course. Went on to take road Olympic gold and road World Championship with pure athleticism.
@Tobin
Yeah, I just that on the Toronto Sports Network! Of course, ask an average Canadian who Lionel Conacher is and you’ll get a blank stare. Even in Toronto!
For the Americans in the crowd, he’s our version of Jim Thorpe, but he played more sports… so better.
@minion
That was a badass day of racing as well. Also there was this:
Credit where credit is due and Boonen just absolutely killed it in P-R. One of the best rides ever and a worthy winner of the V-Moment.
@Dan_R
(Without getting all giddy) me too, that’s the line of the day.
And I didn’t say Roubaix’s were ugly bikes, I said he looks like a monkey humping a tennis ball.- which could be down to the angle of the photo, the turn he’s making or the fact he’s on the rivet. If that led you all to decide that the Roubaix is ugly, unattractive or rides like a POS, then I’m better at this than I thought.
Also see Chris Hoy’s win in the Kieren at London for big baller V moment. Squeezed a six foot, 90 something kilo frame through a gap tighter than Marcus after half a Foster’s shandy at 60 plus kilometers per hour. Fuck yeah. And also anti V can go to the cunzors who own the broadcast rights to the Olympics not making the video publicly available. I spit in their bidons, the wankspanners.
Eff the Olympics watch this instead.
Actually it’s this one. WC 2012 round, comes through a gap that doesn’t exist unless you can see the future.
Have to agree with the choice here but number 2 is?
The Pain. The Hard Work. The Dedication. And when one celebrates one celebrates with the V.
@all
Like Spesh or not. No big deal. I’m just glad we all agree Cervelo’s are ugly.
@minion
Only a few days left for Marcus and minion to send the year’s last salvos.
@RedRanger
Actually, I’m quite sure I read an article in Bikeradar profiling Tommeke’s bike, which stated that he gets a custom-sized frame which is a hybrid of a 58’s top tube and a 54’s head-tube, to match the fit coordinates he needs. He rides the Tarmac already slammed, so the slamming the Roubaix’s stem won’t suffice.
Sagan, by the way, rides a similar 58cm SuperSix EVO with a 54’s head-tube.
Pros ride the right tool for the right job – if that job requires a plusher frame (Roubaix, Domane) then so be it, but they’d rather stay on the same fit-coordinates. Fit-wise, a bike is just three points floating in space – bars, saddle and pedals. Keep those constant and you can use the more aero bike on the breakaways or the plusher one for the cobbles.
@tessar Correction: Even his Tarmac is a special mold that mates a 61cm top tube with a 58-56’s head-tube (apparently dubbed “60 Pro”-size by Specialized). I doubt he rides a stock Roubaix then.
@Dan_R
Yep, bon choix Canada…. was there ever any real alternative to Ryder though ? Pleased for the lad.
What, no votes for Veino winning the Olympic RR? One final salute to the Edgar before the Lance affair?