This is peak Tom Boonen; it’s April 2005, he’s a third year as pro, served his apprenticeship with honours, and is about to be crowned the new king of the cobbled classics.
In 2002 he finished on the podium of his first Paris-Roubaix when he was riding for US Postal and helping George Hincapie, who faded while Boonen kept moving forwards to finish third. In 2003 Boonen won the E3 Prijs Vlaanderen, then Ghent-Wevelgem in 2004 and in today’s photo he’s winning the biggest Belgian race, the Ronde van Vlaanderen.
Boonen’s lone attack from a long way out that day was an example of the power and strength that would become his trademark. Speaking afterwards Peter Van Petegem said he saw the best chance of victory would be if the break regrouped and chased Boonen together, rather than him trying to do it alone.
He was wrong, and in the end it didn’t matter what Van Petegem or anyone did, Boonen wasn’t coming back. Nobody could chase him down, either working with others or on their own. He was that good!
“I knew my attack was a race-defining moment; the one where I’d either win or come sixth,” Boonen said after the race. And he was aware of the huge leap forward he’d taken.
“I’m very proud of what I’ve achieved, very proud of remembering what Johan Museeuw once told me about the Tour of Flanders, he said that you can only attack once, and it’s too bad if it doesn’t work. I followed the other moves as far as the Muur (van Geraardsbergen), and after the Bosberg I attacked. I attacked once, and it worked. It was enough,” he said.
One week later Boonen won Paris-Roubaix with another emphatic display of power and strength. Belgium had its new superstar, and boy was this one popular. You can read all about that popularity, and about Tom Boonen in our latest book, Cycling Legends 04 Flandriens- Cult Heroes of the Cobbles. Read more here.
