Humble Braggadocio

photo courtesy of AFP

Today Tom Boonen won Paris-Roubaix. He has now tied Roger De Vlaeminck's long-standing record of four wins in this race. In fact Tom Boonen has won every northern classic in the last two weeks: the E3-Prijs Harelbeke, Gent-Wevelgem and the Tour of Flanders. He has also become the only rider to win the Tour of Flanders and the Paris-Roubaix double in the same season twice. Today he won by riding away solo at the pavé section of Auchy-les-Orchies à Bersée with around 53 km left before savoring victory alone on the velodrome in Roubaix. For Tom Boonen it has been a few weeks of super strong performance.

Yesterday I raced in the Hell of the North circuit race. This was my first ever circuit race and my first race that hasn't been a crit or a hill climb. It was a little cool with a slight breeze and sunny skies and the dirt and gravel section was fast and perfect. I came in last place. From the gun, the rest of the Cat 5s just kind of slowly rode me right off their wheels and I couldn't catch my wind or push the pedals fast enough to stay on. So I slowly faded off the back and changed my race tactics from trying to stay attached to simply not getting lapped. For me it has not been a few weeks of super strong performance.

photo courtesy of Graham Watson

“Today was one of my best days in my career,” Boonen said. “I wasn’t really thinking about these records and victories." (Quotes are courtesy of Brecht Decaluwé and cyclingnews.com) He also said "If I look on these past two or three weeks it’s been amazing. It’s my second double. Now I’m the only guy that ever did this double two times." Apparently caught up in the moment of his greatness he went on: "I realize now that I’ll probably be one of the best, maybe the best, guy on the cobblestones that ever rode on these roads." Wow. Talk about your braggadocio.

photo courtesy of AFP

In contrast, after Hell of the North, I thought "Today was one of my most embarrassing days spent on the bike." I didn't even make it to the first corner with my group. "I wasn't really thinking about records and victories. I just wanted to hang with the group. Any group. And failing that I just wanted to stave off being lapped by my group." I also thought "If I look on the past two or three weeks I haven't been very amazing at all. I've been spit off the back in every contest I've entered and been left to solo off the back as the only rider that appears to be pedaling in quicksand." Apparently caught up in the moment of my mediocrity I went on: "I realize now that I'll probably be one of the worst, maybe the worst, guy on these crits and climbs and races that ever rode on these roads." Wow. I'm slow.

And you know what? That's OK because I'm having a hell of a good time being slow and spit off the back and apparently pedaling in quicksand. I'm having a hell of a good time being one of the worst, maybe the worst, guy that ever rode on these roads. A hell of a good time.

stinking it up at the Hell of the North