Boonen and Cancellara duelling

Tom Boonen (Omega Pharma-Quickstep) and Fabian Cancellara (Trek Factory Racing) can both lay claim to being Kings of the Classics. But the nature of racing means there can only be one winner at any one time, and the two will battle for supremacy in the spring with the Belgian fully recovered from the injuries which hampered his 2013 campaign. Boonen’s incredible ‘Grand Slam’ on the cobbles in 2012 was followed by Cancellara winning three – E3-Harelbeke, the Ronde and Paris-Roubaix – last year.

Between them they have 23 victories on the cobbles from their illustrious careers, and even with Peter Sagan (Cannondale) bidding to spoil their party as he targets four victories this spring, the battle between Spartacus and Tornado Tom is likely to take centre-stage. The two are indisputably the finest Classics riders of their generation, but only one can take top spot on the respective podiums this spring.