The last of the last laughs

Perhaps you're already aware of the fact that I find the Scheldeprijs Vlaanderen the most boring of the Voorjaars kalssieken. There's not much to be said about racing for 5 hours over reasonably flat roads, with the final 48 kilometers on a loop. It's a rare thing for a non-sprinter to win it.

This year looked to be no different. That is until Tommeke Boonen, still basking in the glory of his Sunday in Hell (part deux), decided to emulate Erik Zabel in San Remo, and celebrate his victory a few meters too early, only to be pipped by an upstart from the Isle of Man, namely Mark Cavendish.



While most of us would have been pleased to discover that there was a slightly surprising conclusion, this year in Schoten, little did we imagine that there would be one more twist to the plot.

Was it sabotage? After all Boonen's hometown of Balen is less than an hours drive. Perhaps it was the mere thought of a swig of champers, for the baby faced young gun. Who knows? What we do know, is that Tom may have dropped the ball, but he did manage to keep his feet firmly on the ground - unlike Cavendish.