Fabian Cancellara has described Tom Boonen (Quick-Step Floors) as his biggest rival during his career, praising him for his ability to win the biggest cobbled Classics and also for the way he overcame difficult moments in his career.
Cancellara retired in 2016 after a final Classics campaign that saw him finish second to Peter Sagan in the Tour of Flanders. Cancellara won the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix three times each during his long career, often clashing with Boonen, who has won Paris-Roubaix four times, the Tour of Flanders three times and a host of other Classics.
Boonen will retire after this year's Paris-Roubaix and then celebrate with a special event in his home town of Mol. Cancellara plans to be there to celebrate with his former rival. He will also be watching Sunday's Tour of Flanders and next weekend's Paris-Roubaix.
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"Tom, along with Filippo (Pozzato) is the rider I've raced with the longest. We competed from when we were juniors until last year. That's cycling. We've both been passionate about the Classics," Cancellara said in an interview with Sporza television in Belgium.
"I figured out over the years that it was either him or me or Stijn Devolder who won all those races. There were no others who lasted so long, they just came and went. Nothing against the other riders, they won, but then they won nothing more. Me and Tom came from another decade. Now they talk about Sagan and Van Avermaet as the new duel but it's still not the same as me and Tom."
Despite being rivals for many years, Cancellara has huge respect for Boonen due to his ability to win the cobbled Classics but also to handle life problems. Boonen admitted he had a drinking problem in 2009 and tested positive for cocaine in out of competition test. It was a low point of his long career but he recovered to duel with Cancellara in the spring of 2010.
Not just waiting for Paris-Roubaix
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