There was no lines of coke, double vodkas and strippers at Tom Boonen's post-Tour of Flanders party this year. No, the Belgian who is off to a superb start in 2012 had a low key celebration with his attention already turning to the Paris-Roubaix this weekend.
"On Sunday evening it was a normal evening at home. I arrived at home, drank a good glass of wine with my family and that was all. I went to bed immediately. I was really tired," he said, as if trying to convince us that things didn't get out of hand after that second glass... "On Monday, I didn't really have a lot of time to enjoy my victory. It's unbelievable." It is, you'd think after such a win, a man would be given a few days out on the tiles, but not so in the fast paced world of professional cycling.
"In cycling you have to turn the page immediately, and next weekend is Paris-Roubaix," he confirmed. "I am still really motivated. Mentally I have no problem. I work a lot to be competitive at this period of the season so I really want to try to do my best even on Sunday and fight for the victory. I don't know if I will make the recon or not on Friday. The parcours is still the same and I have pretty good experience with it."
With confidence like that who would bet against him? Not this fan.
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DADDY CAV
It's not often I beat Mark Cavendish in a race, but yesterday I officially beat him to being a dad by 26 days! Yes the man from the Isle of Man, also known as the fastest man in the world, yesterday announced the birth of daughter, Delilah Grace Cavendish, born to his partner Peta Todd. "Delilah Grace Cavendish was born a couple of hours ago," Cavendish beamed via Twitter. "She & @petatodd are doing very well. So proud of my girls! Happiest day of my life." Congrats Cav on the new born, it's a hell of an experience.
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CONTADOR MAINTAINS LACK OF FAITH IN SPORTS LAW
Alberto Contador has decided not to appeal his savage six month ban for a positive doping test at some Tour de France or other that might have taken place sometime before World War II. Contador had a month to put in an appeal but decided against it after discovering that he would be safe to return to the sport on August 5 rather than receive the full two year ban that a less significant cyclist might have otherwise faced.
"According to my lawyers, it made no sense to appeal the case, as it would have ended up again at the CAS anyway. Meanwhile, I have lost all faith in sports law," Contador quipped angrily. The Spaniard will be missing from this years Tour de France but will return in time to win his home Vuelta a Espana in September. The course was made with him in mind after all.
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CAPTION COMPETITION
Exact prize to be decided but give your best captions in the comment section below on José Joaquin Rojas' latest podium celebration at the Vuelta Ciclista al Pais Vasco...
