Everyone's picking Tom Boonen to win;
Were it to fail, 'twould be a sin.
But teams will be marking him in ones and twos
in the hopes that in this way he just might lose.
Still, if the race were to end in a sprinting bunch,
Boonen in victory is the most tempting hunch.
That's not to rule out the winner last year,
Petacchi could take it if he finds the right gear.
But Boonen seems to win it whenever he wishes
while Petacchi has as many hits as misses.
[I refuse to say that he swims with the fishes]
There are others to watch, you understand,
In case things don't quite go as planned.
Like Zabel and Freire, guys who ride with class,
or Bettini or McEwen, two pains in the ass.
But the latter two are more pains to themselves,
Nursing injuries that'd put most riders on shelves.
Out of vanity or pride both vow to soldier on,
but by KM 290, they'll both be long gone.
So, then, Zabel? Freire? Hushovd? or Backstedt?
Or perhaps someone we haven't thought of yet?
In a sprinter's race, you never can tell
when everyone's plans will all go to hell
and the winner will be an unexpected man
Like Lampre's young speedster Alessandro Ballan,
Or Bennati, Haussler, or another dark horse,
Like ... ah, screw it, Boonen will win of course.