Thijs Zonneveld (Dutch ex-rider, now writer, commentator, analist,..) made a brilliant column about Lars Boom (I am made an attempt to do a good translation):
Lars, boy oh boy, I saw it happen in front of my nose. You stood in front of the camera and you blocked. You stammered. You floundered. You tried to slither from under the question as an eel, but it did not work. You acted like the low cortisol value and the start prohibition by MPCC was nothing. You said:"It's a storm in a teacup". But the bags under your eyes told a different story. That of a tired, sad rider who had found himself at the wrong place at the wrong time and at the wrong team. You messed up the prologue at home and if you do manage to win the cobble stone stage, it will be surrounded by question marks.
What the hell happened in recent years, Lars? You had everything. The legs. The body. The head. The winning mentality. The bravado. You were going to show the world who Lars Boom was, you were going to blow like a hurricane through all early season classics. You weren't afraid to speak up, your future was paved with gold cobblestones, be it in the field, in the time trial or on the road. You had so much talent, that you sometimes (in your young foolishness) didn't know what to do with it .
In exchange for the talent that you have in your earlobe, three-quarters of the peloton would sell their own mother. But in recent years you have not used your talent, instead you've preyed on it. The fire, that burned in you, flares only rarely. You win one or two races per season.. if you put your head to it and make sure your hair is looking good .
Do you remember that after the withdrawal of Rabobank, you were the one within your team shouting the loudest about credibility? Remember when you refused to shake Michael Boogerd hand and wanted to smack Thomas Dekker around because they had tarnished your sport ? Do you remember, Lars? Or do you get forgetful once your salary is deposited from Kazakhstan? There is no other way I can explain that you are currently riding for Aleksandr Vinokourov, in a team that was dogged in the recent past by doping ghosts. That you choose the money, is your right. You want to squander your principles, go ahead. But please stop selling bulls**t. The credibility of the sport doesn't interest Vinokourov and Astana, they were only members of the MPCC to play pretend.
Instead of blaming others for your problems you might have to look at yourself You are 29 now. You haven't been able to even use half of your vast potential and your image is smeared. Your plan to become that hurricane completely failed. That storm in a teacup... Lars, that's you.
Lars, boy oh boy, I saw it happen in front of my nose. You stood in front of the camera and you blocked. You stammered. You floundered. You tried to slither from under the question as an eel, but it did not work. You acted like the low cortisol value and the start prohibition by MPCC was nothing. You said:"It's a storm in a teacup". But the bags under your eyes told a different story. That of a tired, sad rider who had found himself at the wrong place at the wrong time and at the wrong team. You messed up the prologue at home and if you do manage to win the cobble stone stage, it will be surrounded by question marks.
What the hell happened in recent years, Lars? You had everything. The legs. The body. The head. The winning mentality. The bravado. You were going to show the world who Lars Boom was, you were going to blow like a hurricane through all early season classics. You weren't afraid to speak up, your future was paved with gold cobblestones, be it in the field, in the time trial or on the road. You had so much talent, that you sometimes (in your young foolishness) didn't know what to do with it .
In exchange for the talent that you have in your earlobe, three-quarters of the peloton would sell their own mother. But in recent years you have not used your talent, instead you've preyed on it. The fire, that burned in you, flares only rarely. You win one or two races per season.. if you put your head to it and make sure your hair is looking good .
Do you remember that after the withdrawal of Rabobank, you were the one within your team shouting the loudest about credibility? Remember when you refused to shake Michael Boogerd hand and wanted to smack Thomas Dekker around because they had tarnished your sport ? Do you remember, Lars? Or do you get forgetful once your salary is deposited from Kazakhstan? There is no other way I can explain that you are currently riding for Aleksandr Vinokourov, in a team that was dogged in the recent past by doping ghosts. That you choose the money, is your right. You want to squander your principles, go ahead. But please stop selling bulls**t. The credibility of the sport doesn't interest Vinokourov and Astana, they were only members of the MPCC to play pretend.
Instead of blaming others for your problems you might have to look at yourself You are 29 now. You haven't been able to even use half of your vast potential and your image is smeared. Your plan to become that hurricane completely failed. That storm in a teacup... Lars, that's you.
