Lagging behind his results tally of last year due to the disruptions he faced over the winter, Tom Boonen will aim to get things back on track tomorrow when he lines out in the E3 Prijs-Vlaanderen – Harelbeke with his Omega Pharma Quick Step team.
The Belgian rider had five victories by this time last year but is yet to clock up a win this season; he will bid to correct that statistic tomorrow when he goes for what would be his sixth victory in the event. He previously triumphed four times between 2005 and 2007 and then again last year.
Boonen withdrew from Milan-Sanremo on Sunday, saying that the conditions were inhumane. He didn’t compete in yesterday’s Dwars door Vlaanderen, and so will be fully fresh for tomorrow’s E3 Prijs. Also deciding to miss yesterday’s race was Sylvain Chavanel, one of the strongest riders in Milan-Sanremo. He, like many others, fell ill after Sunday’s Classic, but his team feel that he’s well enough to take to the start tomorrow.
Chavanel was fourth in Milan-Sanremo and is the current UCI WorldTour leader.
The duo will be joined by a strong team comprising Iljo Keisse, Michal Kwiatkowski, Zdenek Stybar, Niki Terpstra, Guillaume Van Keirsbulck and Stijn Vandenbergh.
The E3 Prijs Vlaanderen – Harelbeke is 211 kilometres in length and takes in some of the same climbs as Ronde van Vlaanderen. There are 15 ramps in total, namely Leberg, Oude Steenweg, La Houppe, Berg Stene, Boigneberg, Eikenberg, Stationsberg, Taaienberg, Berg Ten Houte, Kanarieberg, Kapelberg, Paterberg, Kwaremont, Knokteberg, and Tiegemberg.