Boonen king of the Queen 1

April 8 ^th 2012 - 16:24

Twelve lead the way _ _ The race started without Francisco Ventoso (MOV), sending 194 riders to tackle the 257.5-kms ride. Several attempts took place from the gun but the pace was too high (48.4 kph in the first hour) for a break to emerge. At kilometer 67, Veuchelen (VCD) and Dehaes (LTB) broke clear and were quickly joined by ten other riders. The twelve were Van Keirsbulck OPQ), Popovych (RNT), Dehaes (LTB), Veuchelen, Lindeman (VCD), Boucher (FDJ), Morkov (SAX), Klemme (ARG), Mangel (SAU), Veilleux (EUR), Saramotins (COF) and Janorschke (APP). With eleven teams involved, the break gained momentum and held a 4:10 lead into the first cobbled sector at km 97.5. A first crash occurred in sector 22, forcing two riders out, but sector 21 was also merciless. A massive pile-up took place in the bunch, holding 1997 winner Frederic Guesdon and splitting the peloton. Pozzato (FAR) also found himself in the second part of the bunch, which finally regrouped. _ _ Ballan tries _ _ In the Arenberg Trench, three of the 12 escapees - Boucher, Janorschke and Van Keirsbulck - crashed heavily while Dehaes punctured. Tom Boonen led the peloton into the Trench with French champion Sylvain Chavanel on his heels. At the end of the sector, the gap had gone down to 1:50 between the eight remaining escapees and the peloton. At kilometer 180, two pre-race favorites, Alessandro Ballan (BMC) and Juan-Antonio Flecha (SKY) tried to take Boonen off his guard. They caught Mathieu Ladagnous (FDJ) and Jimmy Casper (ALM) before being joined by Maarten Wynants (RAB) and Sebastien Turgot (EUR). They held a maximum lead of 20 seconds before being reined in. _ _ Unlucky Chavanel _ _ At the end of sector 13, Sylvain Chavanel attacked and found himself in the lead with Ladagnous, Turgot and Mangel . But the French champion was unlucky to puncture at the worst possible time (Km 200) and his leader Boonen seized the opportunity to counter-attack. Cautiously, Ballan and Pozzato replied and joined him. But they were forced to admit defeat when they were caught by another Omega Pharma-Quick Step rider, Niki Terpstra, who raised the pace and led the way for his leader. Launched like a rocket, Boonen then broke on his own, never to be seen again. _ _ Boonen goes _ _ Behind the Tour of Flanders winner, the other big names lost ground one by one. Thor Hushovd (BMC) crashed and later punctured. Chavanel punctured once more. Pozzato crashed and faltered. Only Ballan and Juan-Antonio Flecha (SKY), helped by three team-mates, kept fighting. Despite a brave team effort by Flecha, Boasson-Hagen, Hayman and Stannard, the gap kept increasing and reached the minute with 29 kilometres to go. There was no denying Boonen a well-deserved victory as the chasing group blew to splinters and was left to battle it out for the podium places. France's Sebastien Turgot surged on the line to take second place ahead of Alessandro Ballan, third for the third time.