With five kilometres still to race on the second road stage of the 2007 Tour, from Dunkirk to Ghent, a three-man breakaway — Ruben Perez of Euskaltel, Cedric Herve of Agritubel and Marcel Sieberg of Milram — were being predictably reeled in by the peloton, the speeding main field. Such scenes are usual in the first week of the Tour and this finale had a predictable look to it.
The trio would be swallowed up, the peloton would hurtle to the finish and — this being Belgium — local hero Tom Boonen, the former world champion and Tour of Flanders winner, would propel himself to the line, arms raised, to the jubilation of thousands of Belgians.
But with less than two kilometres to race, things suddenly changed. A huge pile-up in the heart of the peloton took down approximately fifty riders and left those behind them stranded, as bikes and bodies spread across the road.
Up ahead, about 25 riders raced clear with Boonen in pole position, his pace-setting lead-out man, Gert Steegmans, opening his path to the line.
But these days, Boonen, once rated the world’s fastest sprinter, is a shadow of his former self. He huffed and he puffed, but he couldn’t pass his team-mate, who looked momentarily baffled and then plain embarrassed as he cruised across the line to claim his first Tour de France stage win.
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Afterwards, both Boonen and Steegmans were all smiles, but make no mistake, this wasn’t supposed to happen.
Is Boonen a spent force as a sprinter? Will Steegmans, essentially his understudy, take over as the Quickstep team’s star man? That may soon become clear, but Boonen, who has wilted in the Tour pressure cooker in the past, will be feeling the heat from now on.