Star-studded field of road riders to take on “Tom Boonen and Friends” race in aid of Move to Improve
Tom Boonen (Quick Step) is to organise his charity cyclocross race, at Zilvermeer, in his hometown of Mol, Belgium, for the third straight year this coming Saturday, according to Sporza. The “Tom Boonen and Friends” race is an invitation event, open to road riders, and raises money for “Move to Improve”, a charity for children with motor problems, of which the former World champion is a patron.
“This is not the easiest cyclocross we have organised,” Boonen at the event presentation. “The circuit is challenging, even for a cyclocross rider.”
The list of riders for the main event includes 34 Belgian riders, seven Dutch, three German, two French, a Briton and Spaniard. The biggest names to be racing include André Greipel and Jelle Vanendert (Omega Pharma-Lotto), Giovanni Visconti (Farnese Vini-Neri Sottoli), Carlos Barredo (Rabobank), Björn Leukemans (Vacansoleil-DCM), Marco Bandiera (Qick Step), and Christian Knees (Team Sky). Also riding will be the winners of the first two editions of the event Maarten Wynants (Rabobank) and Pieter Vanspeybroeck (Topsport Vlaanderen-Mercator).
Since he has almost completely switched to road racing, former cyclocross World champion Lars Boom (Rabobank) has also been afforded a special invitation. The fact that he is still the Dutch champion in the event though, means that the Tour of Britain winner will have to start a minute behind the rest of the field; despite this, the Dutchman will start as the overwhelming favourite for the light-hearted event.
Boonen’s season ended with a broken wrist at the Vuelta a España, forcing him to miss the World championships that would have suited his characteristics. He feels that his injury is healed enough for him to race on Saturday though, telling Sporza: “it is a nice snack during my preparation for the season.
While it was not the best spring of his career, a second victory seemed to augur that Boonen would be able to look forward to a return to the top in 2011. Unfortunately though, he fell victim to one of the many crashes in the opening week of the Tour de France and was forced to abandon with concussion. He made his return at the Tour of Poland, and was riding the Vuelta to build form for the World championships in Copenhagen, Denmark, before a stage sixteen crash put paid to his plans.
“In the past two seasons I have suffered a lot of bad luck,” he said of the crashes that have forced him to sit out huge parts of the year. “In the times when I’ve been spared it has gone well; if I stay as busy as I am now I’ll be sure to perform well [in 2012], it simply can’t be otherwise.
"My wrist is almost healed,” he added. “I only suffer when I have to ride down a long descent of a fifteen to twenty minutes."
As well as the main event for current members of the pro peloton, there will – as last year – be a support race for retired riders. Three-time cyclocross World champion Erwin Vervecken returns as the outstanding favourite to defend his 2011 victory, against such names as Johan Museeuw, Davide Bramati, Eric Vanderaerden, Jo Planckaert, Marc Wauters, Roland Liboton, Carlo Bomans, Fons De Wolf, and Jean-Marie Wampers.