Concerns that Tom Boonen’s crash in Sunday’s Gent-Wevelgem might force him to miss the defence of his Ronde van Vlaanderen title have proven unfounded, with the Omega Pharma Quick Step rider able to take the start of the Driedaagse De Panne-Koksijde race.
Boonen hit the deck on Sunday in the area of the Kemmelberg climb, landing on his knee. He clipped a curb and crashed as a result.
“I touched it with my front wheel and went down pretty hard. I touched [the ground] first with my knee and then with the rest of my body. My knee is swollen, it hurts, but we'll see how it reacts tomorrow,” he said on Sunday.
Boonen received treatment and today tested his knee by riding on the home trainer this morning, putting it under a little pressure before the start of the race. As a result of that trial, he and his team decided that he would be able to compete after all.
“The knee is still slightly swollen and it hurts, but I really have to work on my racing rhythm this week as well, prior to the Ronde,” he explained prior to the start. “We'll take it day by day and see how I feel.”
Boonen has been prominent in the race, pushing the pace on the cobbles of the Haaghoek.
The most dominant rider in last year’s spring Classics, he has been on the back foot this year due to illness and injury over the winter. He started his season later than usual as a result, missing the Tour de San Luis and the Tour de Qatar, and is yet to take his first win of the season.
Boonen was seventh in last Friday’s E3 Prijs Vlaanderen – Harelbeke.
He’ll hope that riding the Driedaagse De Panne-Koksijde will enable him to bump his form up a level, although he’s clearly in a race against time to be ready for Flanders.
Twelve months ago he won that Classic, following that up one week later by victory in Paris-Roubaix.