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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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.