Grin to win

Boogerd answers critics with Dutch courage

Of the many joyous sights at this year’s Tour de France, few have been more uplifting than Michael Boogerd’s massive smile as he crossed the line alone at La Plagne, reports Cycling Weekly magazine.

RABOBANK’S Michael Boogerd provided the perfect answer to his critics with a resounding victory at La Plagne, fending off Lance Armstrong (US Postal) after a 127-kilometer break through the high Alps.

If La Plagne is an unforgettable finish point for many Irish and UK fans -- this was where Stephen Roche’s epic battle with Pedro Delgado for the 1987 Tour reached its high point -- now Boogerd’s exploit will long be remembered by the Dutch. Furthermore, on the toughest stage of the Tour the Rabobank co-leader proved that even in modern cycling, long, lone mountain breaks can work. You just need the courage, the luck and the legs.

What it meant AFTER Lance Armstrong put yet another 40 seconds into Joseba Beloki and the rest of his rivals, for some fans it must be tempting to see him as being greedy for stages. But there is a simpler, more logical explanation: the American knows he can increase his advantage without running too many risks, so he is taking a minute here, two minutes there. It all adds up. While never truly going into the red, Armstrong is taking out as much insurance as he can do against a bad day, a crash, a sudden illness, any of the unexpected events which can destroy a leader’s Tour in just one day. Eddy Merckx, a close friend of Armstrong, often used to say that he never felt sure he had won the Tour, that he never had enough time. The American seems to believe in the same philosophy. If his rivals feel intimidated by this, so much the better.

Small wonder that Boogerd’s toothy grin was broader than ever when he crossed the line and into the arms of his girlfriend Nerena, a former Miss Holland. This was his first major win since Paris-Nice and Amstel Gold in 1999, and his first Tour stage since he won in a downpour at Aix-les-Bains in 1996.

Ever since Boogerd finished fifth overall at the 1998 Tour, the Dutchman has either wilted under the pressure, crashed out, or both. Yet more criticism piled up after Boogerd failed to beat David Millar in the break to Béziers on stage 13. But after his attempt to get into Kelme leader Santiago Botero’s move on stage 15 was foiled, 24 hours later the Rabobank rider finally got it right.

The 30-year-old succeeded in breaking clear because of downright persistence. First he followed Botero over the summit of the Galibier, but with three ONCE riders ahead alongside the Colombian and Dutchman, US Postal rapidly reeled the move in. Then Boogerd took off alone at the foot of the hors catégorie Télégraphe, and this move worked.

Bizarrely, Boogerd was briefly caught by two sprinters, first Australian Stuart O’Grady (Crédit Agricole), then Erik Zabel’s lead-out man Gian-Matteo Fagnini (Telekom) and finally a Classics specialist, South African Robert Hunter (Mapei). So it was hardly surprising that Boogerd dropped all three as soon as the road reared upwards on the second of the three hors catégorie climbs of that day, the Madeleine.

What was more impressive was the way the lanky Dutchman slowly but steadily forged open an impressive time gap on a group of four more predictable chasers: Laurent Jalabert (CSC), last year’s Midi Libre winner Iban Mayo (Euskaltel-Euskadi), Frenchman Ludovic Turpin (Ag2r) and former mountain bike world champion Miguel Martinez (Mapei).

By the ski village of Saint-François-Longchamp, two thirds of the way up, Boogerd had a lead of three minutes over the quartet behind, and 8-10 on the bunch.

Come the summit, despite the freezing cold winds, that lead had stretched to 3-20 on the four, and shrunk slightly to 7-45 on the ibanesto.com-led yellow jersey peloton.

Another fast descent saw Boogerd increase his advantage yet further. “We knew he was stronger than us,” Turpin said afterwards, “so we didn’t bother chasing too hard along the valley to the final ascent.”

One by one, as Boogerd struggled upwards on the Plagne climb, the five were reeled in. Jalabert was the first to crack, with Mayo the last to succumb to the US Postal-driven peloton. As the Basque receded, Spaniard Carlos Sastre (CSC) sprang forward from the bunch. It was beginning to look touch and go for Boogerd, who lost 30 seconds per kilometer to Sastre on the second half of the climb, with his lead decreasing to 2-26 with five kilometers left to race. The Dutchman was now showing signs of weakness, such as a twitching right leg, and his maillot was open to his waist, even though it was cooler than previous days.

Heras replaced teammate Jose Luis Rubiera on the front, as usual, and then after two kilometers it was time for Armstrong to show yet again who was boss. Nobody, not even Joseba Beloki (ONCE), tried to follow the Texan as he blazed up the road. So strong that he could have gone way earlier and won the stage, Armstrong denied that was his intention, although several observers recalled how Boogerd had outsprinted Armstrong by less than a half wheel in the 1999 Amstel Gold Race.

“He deserved to win, I don’t need to do that in all the stages,” Armstrong explained, and the Texan, catching Sastre with three kilometers to go, seemed to ease up slightly.

He even gestured for the Spaniard to cross the line ahead of him, despite the time bonus. Come the finish, partly as a consequence of the Texan pulling back, Boogerd was still 1-25 ahead of Armstrong and Sastre. His shoulders swaying as he climbed through La Plagne village, the Dutchman took one last look back -- he describes himself as “the most nervous guy in the peloton” -- and then waved his arms above his head with joy.

“I had seven minutes at the foot of the climb and didn’t think it would be enough,” Boogerd explained. “But when I only lost a further two in the first five kilometers, then I began to think that winning was feasible.

“I hope one day I will take Liège-Bastogne-Liège or the World Championships, but this victory will probably be remembered as the most beautiful, the most incredible of my career.”

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