Who here saw this matchup when we started?
Tom Boonen
Cobbled Credentials Again Please?
Three time winner of the Tour of Flanders. Four time Paris-Roubaix winner. Five time winner of E3. Three time winner of Gent-Wevelgem. Twice won Scheldeprijs. Twice won Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne. Won Dwars door Vlaanderen once. Interestingly has few podiums. Got a 3rd place at P-R waaaaaaaay back in 2002. Has two 2nd places at E3. Got a 3rd at Het Volk once. 2nd at Flanders once.
Tournament Mojo
Last round barely edged Nick Nuyens, 73-zip, zeno, zilch, zippo, goose egg, nada. ZERO. Before that, squeaked out a win over Maartin Wynants in round 2, 62-1. Round 1? Tornado Tom 70, Devo 11. In summary, Boonen is showing the exact form you need to win a Monument: stay near the front of the peloton in the early stages, cinserve energy, move up as the pace quickens, then unleash a killing burst on the Muur.
Johan Cinderella Vansummeren
Cobbled Credentials Again Please?
A true Paris-Roubaix rider, which of course he won once plus boasts of a 5th, 8th, and 9th place finishes at the race. He also has an 11th place at Gent-Wevelgem.
Tournament Mojo
Facing Boonen we give you Cinderella. Vansummerale pulled his third upset of the tournament, this time riding down #2 Phil Gil 50-23 in the semifinals. Before that Johann used his Paris-Roubaix mojo to a convincing 42-17 win over 3rd seeded Greg Van Avermaet. First round saw him eliminate #6 Bjorn Leukemans 42-18.
Commentary
This is about as pure a Superman vs Underdog matchup as you could find and it is the only match up with a double digit seed still alive. By all odds, Tornado Tom should rip The Giraffe apart. But does Evil Sideburns have anything up his....sideburns to change the outcome? The winner here goes to the Final Four as the Newbie Belgian representative.