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.
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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...