Belgian chasing a record equalling fourth victory in l’Enfer du Nord
Quick Step has announced the eight-man team that is to attempt to deliver Tom Boonen’s fourth victory in Paris-Roubaix on Sunday. The former World and Belgian champion won the race in 2005, 2008 and 2009 but has had his crown as king of the cobbles taken from him by Leopard Trek rival Fabian Cancellara, who dominated last year’s race.
A fourth victory for Boonen in the Queen of the Classics would equal the outright record held by Flemish legend Roger De Vlaeminck. The great “Gypsy” picked up his four wins in 1972, 1974, 1975 and 1977, linking the heyday of Eddy Merckx with the triple victory of eventual teammate Francesco Moser.
After a reconnaissance ride of part of the 258km course, including many of the 51.5km of cobbles, the Belgain team has named its line up for the race.
“We pedalled for about two and a half hours” explained Sporting Director Wilfried Peeters, who rode the race many times in support of his friend and three-time winner Johan Museeuw, “from Arenberg to the cobblestone sector in Cysoing à Bourghelles. The recon ride was preceded by a car recon on the cobblestones sectors that come before the Arenberg forest.
“The team is ready,” he added. “Boonen and [Sylvain] Chavanel are a guarantee in these kind of races. Sunday will be a fast race. The cobblestones we saw today in recon are very fast. It’s going to be quite a show.”
Boonen himself is very confident but, as yet another crash victim in Wednesday’s Scheldeprijs, he is still feeling the effects of hitting the tarmac.
“After today’s evaluation of the route I feel a bit more confident about the shape I’m in after Wednesday’s fall.” he said “Of course, it would have been better had I not fallen. I still have some aches and pains but there are still two days left to get back to 100%.
“Sunday will be another battle but our team is ready,” he continued. “We have some great riders on the team and we can count on an outstanding Chavanel; after what he did on Sunday in the Ronde [van Vlaanderen] he’s become a race favourite. There’s plenty of competition. I’d put Cancellara a little bit above the rest, but there are at least eight riders who could win it.
“We’re going to do our best to give the team a prestigious win,” he concluded.
Chavanel has been the outstanding Quick Step rider in recent weeks, showing aggression and intelligence in a number of top races, usually in the support of his teammates. He finished second to Nick Nuyens in Sunday’s Ronde, but many believe he could have won the race had he been able to race for himself at an earlier stage.
“I’m in great shape,” said the Frenchman, who won two stages of last year’s Tour de France, taking the yellow jersey both times. “I hope to ride the best race possible, like I did last Sunday.
“Tom and I are a dynamic duo,” he added, “the team is strong. It’ll be important to take on the Arenberg forest out front. The new cobblestone section after the forest will make it hard to recuperate. We’ll have to be careful, that’s where the real race will start.”
Should Chavanel fulfil what many see as his potential on Sunday, he will become the first Frenchman to win his country’s biggest one-day race since Frédéric Guesdon in 1997.
Quick Step team for Paris-Roubaix:
Marco Bandiera, Tom Boonen, Sylvain Chavanel, Gerald Ciolek, Andreas Stauff, Gert Steegmans, Kevin Van Impe and Guillaume Van Keirsbulck.