THE RACE LIVE

The film of the stage

Boonen: The Master Of The Sprint

Sprinting is a technical art and the master of the moment is Tom Boonen. The 24-year-old Quickstep rider appears to be in a league of his own in 2005. When the peloton arrived on the famous Avenue de Grammont in Tours every sprinter was in prime position to claim victory. But Boonen demoralized them all in the dying meters of the 212.5km third stage from La Chataigneraie.

While other riders frantically tried to get to the front of the rapid peloton in the final 500m, Tom remained patient. When he decided it was time to accelerate he blasted into the lead and reached the line with enough time to savor the moment with another two-handed salute.

There were signs of panic amidst the other candidates for the win. The most obvious display of desperation came from the defending champion of the Tour de France’s points classification Robbie McEwen from the Davitamon-Lotto team. Just as happened at the end of stage two, the Australian was well positioned to challenge for the win but as Boonen bolted into the lead he found himself boxed in. On McEwen’s right was his compatriot Stuart O’Grady. “I was in the best possible position for the sprint,” said the Cofidis rider. “But Robbie realized he was racing for second place.”

The action McEwen took wasn’t pretty. The Australian champion used his head to try and direct O’Grady off his line and open a space for him to move but it was too late. Stuart had to stop his effort in favor of ensuring he stayed upright while Robbie continued to lean to his right. Lesser bike riders would have come tumbling down because of this high-speed battle. “All I could concentrate on was making sure I stayed on my bike,” said O’Grady moments after the race jury relegated McEwen to 186th place, last in the main group. “I need a beer to calm my nerves. That’s not how I saw today concluding… although I must admit that I’m not surprised by Boonen. He’s pure class. As for Robbie, I can understand that he was desperate but he shouldn’t make it dangerous.”

There’s obvious admiration for the rider who wore the green jersey for the first time in the Tour de France today. Even Boonen’s rivals recognize his talents. He’s already accomplished the same as he did in his debut last year and he wants more. “I’ve got two sprint wins already,” said Boonen. “It’s equal with last year and there is still plenty of time for more.

“Now I really want to focus on the green jersey and on earning points. The best way to earn points is at the finish line not at the intermediate sprints.” In two days the Belgian has a tally of 70 points, 20 more than the current runner-up, O’Grady.

We’ve seen riders dominate the first week of the Tour de France before. Mario Cipollini and Alessandro Petacchi are two who have won four stages before the first mountain range. But they’ve never made it to Paris. Boonen seems to have the sort of condition which will allow him to continue winning after tomorrow’s team time trial. We know he can not only survive the mountains and make it to Paris and he can also win. He appears to be the rightful heir to the Sprint King crown. Robbie’s relegation today has certainly helped Tom’s cause.

The focus of the past two days has been on stage wins, but tomorrow the race for the yellow jersey resume. Dave Zabriskie has handled his time in the lead of the Tour with plenty of panache but he admits he hasn’t really been tested since winning the first stage. “Today was just another day in a bike race,” said the American CSC rider. “So far it hasn’t been too difficult. The final kilometers are dangerous but there’s no need for me to stress about what happens in the sprints.

“I can’t forecast what will happen tomorrow but I know we’ll be doing what we can to hold onto the lead.”

The latest maestro of the time trial awaits tomorrow’s challenge, but today we can appreciate the continued progression of the master of the sprint, Mr Tom Boonen.

Newsflashes

» Read all the dispatches