World Champion in Yellow...thoughts?

I don't place that great a value on wearing yellow in the first week. Honestly, there is no change in Boonen's status. Before the Tour started, he was a world champion, a huge force in one-days, and a huge GT sprint stage force. Now, the same. He was a major force, and the yellow does not indicate he is now a greater force.

Now, if he were to still be wearing the yellow in the third week...

Daily_Spin said:

This was sent in to our Letters to the Editor section and wanted to see what all of you thought:

"Where do you feel, Boonen, ranks as being only the rider to wear the yellow jersy and world champion jersey since Lemond?

I feel that this is a big deal since it now places Boonen as a major force in cycling as a whole, and not just a rider who only does well in certain races, like some other well known riders. Hats off to all the riders and look forward to a great tour, even though it will turn into a different type of race once they head to the mountains."

D.S.

Thanks

JRMDC said:

He was a major force, and the yellow does not indicate he is now a greater force.

I think that peaking for the spring classics and still having the legs in July to take the yellow at all shows quite a bit of force.

artmichalek said:

I think that peaking for the spring classics and still having the legs in July to take the yellow at all shows quite a bit of force.

Actually Boonen is not showing that he is World Champ. He is in Yellow, but the method he slipped into it does not make him a force. He's getting his ass dusted every day.
Boonen is a rider to be reckoned with , but not in stage racing. The Yellow jersey is usually avoided by the teams in the first week that are contenders.

His yellow/rainbow does not carry the same weight as Lemonds combo did.

artmichalek said:

I think that peaking for the spring classics and still having the legs in July to take the yellow at all shows quite a bit of force.

Ha ha!

wolfix said:

He's getting his ass dusted every day.

Perhaps, but the every day part is key. He may not be winning stages, but he's always at the front.

McEwen just won again. Boonan retains the yellow with his 3rd place.

Boonen is a great rider.The best rider this season. But he not a force in the jersey combo. A force does not lose every sprint when he is a sprinter. This is a sport where only first place matters.

wolfix said:

Actually Boonen is not showing that he is World Champ. He is in Yellow, but the method he slipped into it does not make him a force. He's getting his ass dusted every day.
Boonen is a rider to be reckoned with , but not in stage racing. The Yellow jersey is usually avoided by the teams in the first week that are contenders.

His yellow/rainbow does not carry the same weight as Lemonds combo did.

Agree totally with the last sentence, another way of saying what I said about the third week.

But Boonen IS a rider to be reckoned with in stage racing, for reasons other than the GC. And I don't think he is getting dusted - Zabel is getting dusted - he just hasn't won. He is still completely in contention for the green.

Oops, hasn't won AGAIN! 🙂 🙁

Back to my point... 🙂 You could say Hushovd is the one getting dusted, his placings in the last 5 stages: 3, 63, relegated, 7, 5. Boonen: 2, 4, 4, 2, 3.

wolfix said:

Boonen is a great rider.The best rider this season. But he not a force in the jersey combo. A force does not lose every sprint when he is a sprinter. This is a sport where only first place matters.

Well, I think you would agree that he has won one or two sprints in his day, albeit not yet in this year's Tour.

And do you not value the green jersey much? He is still strongly in contention for that. Did you not value Zabel's riding back when he was strong? Did you not value Hushovd's green last year?

Underperforming, according to expectations, sure. But still a force, still a rider that everyone keeps an eye on when the sprint is coming.

wolfix said:

Boonen is a great rider.The best rider this season. But he not a force in the jersey combo. A force does not lose every sprint when he is a sprinter. This is a sport where only first place matters.

Care to remind us how many first place finishes Lemond had on his way to taking that yellow jersey as world champion? Boonen of course is probably going to get smacked for a half hour plus in the mountains, but he's still going to be a serious threat for the green jersey.

wolfix said:

Boonen is a great rider.The best rider this season. But he not a force in the jersey combo. A force does not lose every sprint when he is a sprinter. This is a sport where only first place matters.

At the end of his career, he'll have his Vlaanderen and Roubaix trophies on his wall next to his rainbow jersey(s) at the proudest locations, then he'll have his Tour de Belgique and minor classic trophies below that, and then his green and yellow jerseys from the TdF, and then the rest of the stuff like the Tour of Qatar stuffed camel at the bottom.

artmichalek said:

He may not be winning stages, but he's always at the front.

This might be why he is not doing well. If I were him I would go back and have lunch with Robbie and talk about the French country side and then follow Robbie's riders to the front in the last km. Boonen might get his timing back.

lw

lwedge said:

This might be why he is not doing well. If I were him I would go back and have lunch with Robbie and talk about the French country side and then follow Robbie's riders to the front in the last km. Boonen might get his timing back.

lw

McEwen even said it himself that without Disco or T-Mobile to keep an eye on the breakaways to protect their GC contenders, the whole chase every day has been Quick-Step trying to protect Boonen's jersey. For more than 100K each day, the Boys in the QS blue have been sitting on the front, while McEwen's lead-out men relax in the pack.

Once Boonen loses yellow, the pressure will be off, and he can get his lead out train back on the rails.

strummer_fan said:

McEwen even said it himself that without Disco or T-Mobile to keep an eye on the breakaways to protect their GC contenders, the whole chase every day has been Quick-Step trying to protect Boonen's jersey. For more than 100K each day, the Boys in the QS blue have been sitting on the front, while McEwen's lead-out men relax in the pack.

Once Boonen loses yellow, the pressure will be off, and he can get his lead out train back on the rails.

Good observation. Good well be that the QS boys are just too tired to create a proper train when they get to the finish. Or if they do have a train Steegmans can pull McEwen straight past it like its standing still. Boonen will be out of Yellow by the end of tomorrow, so we'll have to see what happens on Sunday.

Eldrack said:

Good observation. Good well be that the QS boys are just too tired to create a proper train when they get to the finish. Or if they do have a train Steegmans can pull McEwen straight past it like its standing still. Boonen will be out of Yellow by the end of tomorrow, so we'll have to see what happens on Sunday.

I agree with this. Yellow is great but for riders like Boonen they need to focus on Green. It's kind of anticlimactic to see him in Yellow at this point.

Yellow today, nothing tomorrow.

Boonen is a great rider. But to say he is a force in this TDF is not right. McEwen is a force in this TDF so far, he has won 3 stages.
Boonen will have his day though.
Winning the green jersey is an honor, but it does not designate you as thr TDF's best sprinter. I don't think Cipo ever won the green , but he was the best sprinter for a few years in the TDF. The way the TDF is set up for the points jersey does not award the best sprinter, it rewards the most consistent high finisher.

Wearing the Yellow in the first week is an honor. Wearing the Yellow anytime is an honor. But wearing the jersey after the TT and after the TDF hits the mountains means so much more.

wolfix said:

Wearing the Yellow in the first week is an honor. Wearing the Yellow anytime is an honor. But wearing the jersey after the TT and after the TDF hits the mountains means so much more.

I agree. If you wear it during the first part of the race, you're defending it for your sponsor. If you have it later on, you're defending your legacy.

strummer_fan said:

McEwen even said it himself that without Disco or T-Mobile to keep an eye on the breakaways to protect their GC contenders, the whole chase every day has been Quick-Step trying to protect Boonen's jersey. For more than 100K each day, the Boys in the QS blue have been sitting on the front, while McEwen's lead-out men relax in the pack.

Once Boonen loses yellow, the pressure will be off, and he can get his lead out train back on the rails.

A very very good analysis : you're 100% correct.

wolfix said:

Boonen is a great rider. But to say he is a force in this TDF is not right. McEwen is a force in this TDF so far, he has won 3 stages.
Boonen will have his day though.
Winning the green jersey is an honor, but it does not designate you as thr TDF's best sprinter. I don't think Cipo ever won the green , but he was the best sprinter for a few years in the TDF. The way the TDF is set up for the points jersey does not award the best sprinter, it rewards the most consistent high finisher.

Wearing the Yellow in the first week is an honor. Wearing the Yellow anytime is an honor. But wearing the jersey after the TT and after the TDF hits the mountains means so much more.

To wear the Yellow Jersey at any time is a great honour.

Some get to wear it fortuitously - one only has to recall Victor Hugo Pena getting the jersey.
Was that merited ? Probably not.
But we won't begrudge him his time in Yellow.

Personally, i think that the Green Jersey is more representative of a great rider.
The Green Points jersey winner must be consistent throughout the Tour.