Categories: AwardsAwesome Belgian GuysThe Hardmen

2012 V-Moment of the Year: Boonen Goes Long

Boonen goes long. Photo via Cycling Weekly

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.

frank

The founder of Velominati and curator of The Rules, Frank was born in the Dutch colonies of Minnesota. His boundless physical talents are carefully canceled out by his equally boundless enthusiasm for drinking. Coffee, beer, wine, if it’s in a container, he will enjoy it, a lot of it. He currently lives in Seattle. He loves riding in the rain and scheduling visits with the Man with the Hammer just to be reminded of the privilege it is to feel completely depleted. He holds down a technology job the description of which no-one really understands and his interests outside of Cycling and drinking are Cycling and drinking. As devoted aesthete, the only thing more important to him than riding a bike well is looking good doing it. Frank is co-author along with the other Keepers of the Cog of the popular book, The Rules, The Way of the Cycling Disciple and also writes a monthly column for the magazine, Cyclist. He is also currently working on the first follow-up to The Rules, tentatively entitled The Hardmen. Email him directly at rouleur@velominati.com.

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View Comments

Ron says:

Dec 30 2012 at 8:13 am

Ah, got it Gianni! That makes sense. Love that I'm always learning something new about this awesome sport! I hadn't considered how difficult, or impossible, it is to draft on cobbles. Now I just need to get there so I can find out for myself.
Dan_R says:

Dec 30 2012 at 8:49 am

@strathlubnaig oh I hear ya! I spent a large portion of my military career in a highland regiment. Nothing like 'neeps & haggis. Accept an Englishman making himself look stupid.

@McTyke bloody Campbell.

VLVV
strathlubnaig says:

Dec 30 2012 at 1:18 pm

@Dan_R

@strathlubnaig oh I hear ya! I spent a large portion of my military career in a highland regiment. Nothing like 'neeps & haggis. Accept an Englishman making himself look stupid.

@McTyke bloody Campbell.

VLVV

I posted in another thread where I was guessing you being in Alberta you was an ex- PPLI, regardless, Chapeau.
strathlubnaig says:

Dec 30 2012 at 1:22 pm

@McTyke

@strathlubnaig

Lord above I hope Wiggins / Sky do not win the Giro next year, it's bad enough listening to the Anglos still going on about 1966.... I'd need to re-migrate back to the Le Vieux Pays again.

As a Yorkshireman living in Scotland, I never bring up 1966 and don't know any Englishmen who do either. In my experience it's the Scots who like to perpetuate the myth that we keep going on about it, as it gives them something to complain about!

Living in Scotland that's a good tactic. It's the meeja in englandshire who harp on.
Mikael Liddy says:

Dec 30 2012 at 2:23 pm

@Daccordi Rider

Well I just had my V moment for the year, heading up Greenhill Rd climb (6.5% for 7km) and right at the bottom Rachael Neylan comes past me. Naturally the compunction is to chase, swapped a couple of turns, reduced to wheel sucking about halfway and dropped about three quarter way to finish 50m back. I was utterly on the rivet, I suspect she was not! Still I smashed my best time and probably will spend the rest of the day in the foetal position.

http://app.strava.com/rides/34459603

Got confirmation of this from Miss Neylan this morning, when I brought it up she said 'oh was that the MIttiga guy? Yeah he did ok to start with...'
brian says:

Dec 30 2012 at 2:48 pm

great choice,boonen's the MAN.
frank says:

Dec 30 2012 at 4:04 pm

@motor city

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..

That was fucking classic, wasn't it? My goodness my Merckx - and even the motorcycle drivers (if you can call those scootery things that) were pumped. Great moment. Like we said - lots of great moments this year - hard one to call!
frank says:

Dec 30 2012 at 4:07 pm

@Buck Rogers

@Roadslave525

Not wanting to be a) starstruck, or b) nervous about making anti-Boonen comments, bout take it y'all saw him retweet the link to this article last night at 7pm CET?

Jeeezzhus! I think that The V site just climaxed! Un-fookin-believable!

I blacked out for two days after that. Has anything cool happened in the mean time? Because if it did, I missed it.

@brian

great choice,boonen's the MAN.

Yes he is.
Daccordi Rider says:

Dec 30 2012 at 5:42 pm

@Mikael Liddy

@Daccordi Rider

Well I just had my V moment for the year, heading up Greenhill Rd climb (6.5% for 7km) and right at the bottom Rachael Neylan comes past me. Naturally the compunction is to chase, swapped a couple of turns, reduced to wheel sucking about halfway and dropped about three quarter way to finish 50m back. I was utterly on the rivet, I suspect she was not! Still I smashed my best time and probably will spend the rest of the day in the foetal position.

http://app.strava.com/rides/34459603

Got confirmation of this from Miss Neylan this morning, when I brought it up she said 'oh was that the MIttiga guy? Yeah he did ok to start with...'

Ouch!
Daccordi Rider says:

Dec 30 2012 at 5:45 pm

@Daccordi Rider I hope you told her I am 41, don't train full time and weigh more than 45kg dripping wet! She should Yale pity on me.