Stijn Devolder: One Trick Pony or Potential Cycling Dominator?

Stijn Devolder has more than earned his salary over the past two seasons for his Quick Step team by winning the Tour of Flanders. The Belgian took top honors two years in a row at the Flemish monument, and for doing so he has become a legend not only in his home country, but worldwide. However, Devolder has been an also-ran throughout much of the rest of the cycling season. Despite having two monuments to his name, Devolder still is not considered a heavy favorite for races other than Flanders.

Certain riders seem to do well year in and year out at certain races. For Erik Zabel, it was Milan-San Remo. For Lance Armstrong, the Tour de France. For Damiano Cunego, it is the Giro di Lombardia. For Tom Boonen, Paris-Roubaix. But these types of riders can usually be counted on to show well at other big races as well. Zabel, for all his success in MSR, also had a slew of big wins at other races. Ditto for Armstrong, Cunego and Boonen. But for Devolder, this has not been the case. But why?

Stijn Devolder has been with the Quick Step cycling team for two full seasons after having come to them from the Discovery Channel cycling team. He had a few notable wins to his credit prior to Quick Step, including a 3rd place overall in the 2007 Tour de Swiss and an 11th overall in the 2006 Vuelta a Espana. But his time at Quick Step has seen far less production out of the Belgian pro. Instead, Devolder has been dominant at the Ronde, but has fizzled throughout the rest of the year. So much o in fact, that he was not included in the 2009 Belgian road world championship team. Devolder viewed his non-selection as a snub, but the results spoke for themselves. Zero wins after Flanders and more than 2 hours down in the GC for the Vuelta a Espana.

Whether Devolder will ever have the form beyond the Tour of Flanders is unknown, but regardless of his results the rest of the year, as a two time winner of Flanders his legacy as a tough one day rider is safe, at least in Belgium. Winning one monument forever endears you to your fans if you are a Belgian rider, and two wins, especially in Flanders, take you into legendary status. Devolder may never have as many wins as Tom Boonen, but he'll probably get asked for as many autographs from Belgian fans as Boonen does.

Stijn Devolder is 30 years old, and he still has several seasons left to try to win other races. Once tipped as a possible stage race contender, all that talk has died down over the past few years as Devolder has been dropped badly in the high mountains during every grand tour he contested. Now a one day rider, Devolder will have to hang his hat on the northern classics, and Flander in particular. If he can mange just one win at Pari-Roubaix he'll sit alongside Boonen, Merckx, de Vlaeminck and Musseuw as one of the greatest Belgian cyclists ever. If not though, he'll be categorized as a one trick pony incapable of winning anywhere but Flanders.