"The 33"-Road Bike Racing - Multi-part Boonen Question

1. Where do you rank him all time?

2. What would he have to accomplish to be one of the top ten classics riders of all time? top 5?

It's too soon to rank him all time. I want to say that at the end of his career he could be another Van Looy though he may be lacking races like LBL and Giro di Lombardi. He also needs to put work into points jerseys in the Vuelta and Giro. He will never win a mountains jersey though like Van Looy.

If he retired right now, I'd put him on the same level as Van Steenbergen or possibly De Vlaeminck.

Top ten classics rider ever? Maybe. Add LBL, Giro di Lomabrdia, maybe Paris Tours and Flech Wallone? Yes.

It's too soon to rank him all time. I want to say that at the end of his career he could be another Van Looy though he may be lacking races like LBL and Giro di Lombardi. He also needs to put work into points jerseys in the Vuelta and Giro. He will never win a mountains jersey though like Van Looy.

If he retired right now, I'd put him on the same level as Van Steenbergen or possibly De Vlaeminck.

Van Steenbergen was no De Vlaeminck

Lifetime Monument Tally

1. Merckx 19 (all five)
2. De Vlaeminck 11 (all five)
4. Kelly, Coppi 9
6. Van Looy 8 (all five)
7. Bartali 7
8. Museeuw, Argentin, Binda, Moser 6
14. Van Steenbergen, Bettini, Boonen 5
20. Zabel, Raas, Godefroot, Gimondi, Kuiper 4


Leaving off a few obviously, but Boonen could be a top 5 of all time some day. I think he could be an all fiver with a little motivation.

For one day racers, Cycling Hall of Fame has De Vlaeminck ranked 3rd and Van Steenbergen ranked fifth.

De Vlaeminck - Paris Roubaix (4), MSR (3), Giro de Lombard (2), LBL.

Van Steenbergen - World Champion (3), Ronde van Vlaanderen (2), Paris-Roubaix (2), Flèche Wallonne (2), Milan-Sanremo

Not that huge a difference between the two. De Vlaeminck never got the Worlds.

Your rankings list also only includes monuments. OP was asking about his results in all classics.

Not that huge a difference between the two. De Vlaeminck never got the Worlds.

Your rankings list also only includes monuments. OP was asking about his results in all classics.

I know you know this but WC is not a classic, and Van Steenbergen never got LBL or GdL. Winning all 5 monuments is a legendary accomplishment. If Boonen can do that his legend status will be at least as high as De Vlaeminck's.

Van Steenbergen was no De Vlaeminck.......

I know you know this but WC is not a classic, and Van Steenbergen never got LBL or GdL. Winning all 5 monuments is a legendary accomplishment. If Boonen can do that his legend status will be at least as high as De Vlaeminck's.

Boonen will never win all five monuments as long as his arse points to the ground. His record is not nearly as good as Van Steenbergens yet. De Vlaeminck and Van Steenbergen are fairly equal IMO.


De Vlaeminck - Paris Roubaix (4), MSR (3), Giro de Lombard (2), LBL. + 1 RVV. He won races like Het Volk too.

Y'all think Boonen can win LBL some day?

He's played down any interest in the Ardennes classics, but it sounds like the word from inside his camp is that he'd like to stretch out a bit and give it a go.

If he wins both Flanders and Roubaix again he's for sure top ten. I'd say top five.

Also, just to clarify, I should have said one day races. WC is at the very least a "semi-monument".

Y'all think Boonen can win LBL some day?

Nope

Kinda off topic, but every time I see a thread like this, the more amazing I find Merckx's (Eddy, not Axel) accomplishments.

19 monuments, 3 classics wins in 1 year 7 times, 4 classics wins in 1 year 3 times, not to mention all three grand tours. Oh and throw in Het Volk, Tour of Romandy, Dauphine, Paris-Nice, and the '74 Worlds.

Wow.

It's too soon to rank him all time. I want to say that at the end of his career he could be another Van Looy though he may be lacking races like LBL and Giro di Lombardi. He also needs to put work into points jerseys in the Vuelta and Giro. He will never win a mountains jersey though like Van Looy.

If he retired right now, I'd put him on the same level as Van Steenbergen or possibly De Vlaeminck.

Top ten classics rider ever? Maybe. Add LBL, Giro di Lomabrdia, maybe Paris Tours and Flech Wallone? Yes.

this.