Ever. Never-ever.
A race to make a hard man weak. David Millar is shattered →
OMG! OMG! OMG! OMG!
It made this 40-something fanboy (me!) into a pre-pubescent, squealing mass of hysteria.
Greatest. Race. Ever.*
If you didn't see it, you missed a race for the ages. It was spectacular.
Absurd! The favorites break free...can it get better? →
The favorites delivered: Boonen and Cancellera. Mano a mano. Cobbles. Koppenberg. Muur. Those fans. 163 miles.
163 miles on those roads.
Wow
Americans are familiar with the tour and the legends thereof. Lemond and Armstrong made that happen.
But the classics are a world apart. They are a different geography, culture, and climate. They are as hard as it gets. They are ruthless. They reward the strong, the cunning, and the lucky. They're one shot in one day, not many stages over weeks. They're fickle and scary.
How steep is the Koppenberg? 22% near the top.
Look at the pavé! It's not well-groomed tarmac. Look at the hills! They are short and brutal, not long, sinewy and elegant like the mountains of the grand tours.
Pros walk up; and there is no shame!
He's a tourist. Famously, many of the pros will be walking the Koppenberg as well.
In fact, one of the pros from the lead pack hesitated, and had to walk it this past Sunday.
In fact, one of the pros from the lead pack hesitated, and had to walk it this past Sunday.
It Got Better
Boonen and Cancellara broke away. Tom Boonen has the better sprint. Fabian Cancellara is the world time trial champion. To win, Fabulous could not roll to the finish with Boonen. There was only one logical place to attack, on the Muur.
It's a climb so famous, it has several names: Muur van Geraardsbergen (English: Wall of Geraardsbergen/Grammont), Kapelmuur, or Muur-Kapelmuur. Most people know it simply as The Muur.
It sounds so easy: 1 kilometer with an average grade of 7.7%.
However, the official race data tells a different tale: length 475 meters, average 9.3%, max 19.8% (all cobbles).
20%. Cobbles.
Everyone knew it was coming. And it happened. Cancellera rode away.
As Heinrich Haussler wrote in his blog:
...when Cancellara went on the climb and dropped Boonen....I've never seen anything like that before. You look at Boonen - he's the strongest I've seen him in years and he's winning races again but Cancellara didn't even need to stand up or sprint - he wasn't even breathing.
"He wasn't even breathing..."
When the best step up, it's a thrill. When they go head-to-head, it's a spectacle.
And when one can completely dominate the other, such that everyone can say "the best man won on the day," it's the stuff of legend.
Hup! Hup! Ronde van Vlaanderen!
Now, bring on Roubaix!
*Hyperbole recognized, noted, and duly acknowledged...
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