Not a top-five ranking, but again a very prominent role. In his final Liège-Bastogne-Liège, Michael Boogerd was again one of the most exciting cyclists to watch. For a long time it seemed as if the captain of the Rabo cycling team was definitely the equal of his traditional competitors: Valverde, Bettini, Rebellin, Schleck and Di Luca. Some of them turned out to be a little bit more explosive in the finale. Danilo di Luca won after initiating an attack with Frank Schleck. Thomas Dekker triedt, but was not able to join them. Boogerd passed the finish line in sixth place.

Team leader Erik Breukink could live with the results. "You know that you do not have a super favorite in your team. And, when you analyze the progress of the stage, one must conclude that there were not a lot of moments to force a breakthrough. Hence, you will just need to accept the results," said Breukink, who had again seen a very brave Boogerd, performing close or even at the same level of all the other world-class cyclists. "There is always one rider who is more explosive. The differences are small, but the differences that are created in the finale are usually caused by explosiveness."

Exciting and tough
The finale of La Doyenne was again thrilling and extremely tough. Until the fifty kilometer mark from the finish line, four escapees had been dominating the race. They managed to increase their maximum lead to more than eighteen minutes. With a long pursuit, the favorite teams were able to capture the escapees before the start of the decisive phase. But, this meant that, for a significant part of the race, a real battle between the favorites failed to occur. Even on La Redoute, where the battle usually kicks off, nothing happened.

For a moment it looked as if Paolo Bettini and Michael Boogerd were going to be the first to attack, but when all favorites were able to neutralize the initiated attacks by first Paolo Bettini and later Michael Boogerd, the two decided not to hit the pedals anymore. Only a few kilometers later did the bomb explode. Stefan Schumacher, him again, took the initiative for a long escape. The German winner of The Amstel Gold Race was joined by six other rides, with, among others, Karsten Kroon. Schumacher solely sought adventure again later.

"The only mistake we made was that we did not have a representative in that group," confessed Breukink. "Pieter Weening was then forced to put out all the stops, and he succeeded very well. But, it should not have been necessary." The attackers were then one-by-one captured by the group of favorites. Schumacher was the last one. He gave up on the last-but-one climb, the Saint Nicholas. An acceleration by Michael Boogerd was parried by Bettini. A breakaway attempt by Schleck and Di Luca was more successful.

Prominent role Thomas Dekker
Thomas Dekker placed a counterattack on a less steeper climb, but he could not reduce the 8-second gap between him and the two leaders. Dekker hit the breaks during the final kilometer when it appeared that it was going to be impossible to reach the two up front. He was, nevertheless, still admired for his efforts by his team leader. Breukink: "Thomas's counterattack was the right move to make. It was not going to be easy, but it did not keep him from giving it a go. It is a sign that he is feeling better again. He has shown a lot during the past week in the Ardennes. Of course, certain things could be improved, but Thomas is on the right track."

Breukink's reaction to Boogerd's performance was brief and to the point. "Admirably good again. He is always there when he needs to. It is just a shame that some riders were just a little more explosive."

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