As the days count down to the Belgian championships on Sunday, past winner Tom Boonen has described taking the tricolour jersey again as one of his top targets. The Quick Step rider won the race in 2009 and will give his all again this weekend,
“I would have liked a slightly harder course,” he told Sporza in a television interview. “A lot will depend on the wind this year. It is a course I should be able to do well on. We will see, but this is definitely my first great goal of the second half of the season.”
The former world champion announced himself and Philippe Gilbert as the men to look out for. Gilbert has been in sublime form this season, winning the last six races he has started.
Both will be closely watched, and should be in the centre of the action. However Boonen states that it isn’t a done deal that either will win. “We are both favourites,” he said. “However, the course is not to his advantage.
“It is slightly harder for me to win on a course like this year too because when there are breakaways, people don’t want to push on with me in it. You need enough team-mates in that case. We will see – I wouldn’t mind a sprint.”
On the subject of sprints, he will be one of those to watch in the big gallops of the Tour de France, even if it was 2007 when he last won a stage. His recent history has been a frustrating one; in 2008 he was blocked from starting due to a positive test for cocaine. In 2009 he once again tested positive in the run-up to the event, but race organisers ASO had to let him in after the Court of Arbitration for Sport ruled on the matter.
His form was anonymous, though, and he didn’t register any top ten finishes before withdrawing halfway through.
Last year could have been better but he missed the race altogether due to injury. Providing everything goes right, he knows that he should be able to ride strongly this time.
Boonen won the points classification in the past, taking in 2007, but has made it clear that he won’t be thinking about the green jersey until the race has started. That’s partly because he concedes that he struggles to keep up with the fastest sprinters in the world and will change his focus slightly.
“I haven’t studied all the stages, but there are definitely some stages that should be hard enough to get a sprint without some of the other [fast] guys. I hope to play some role of importance in those.”
Asked whether he still likes sprinting, he said, “The question is, have I ever liked sprinting? I’ve always liked it, but the risks become clearer the older you get and the more injuries you’ve had. I think you will see it with most sprinters – guys like me – guys who have won many races. I need sprints which are very hard - on those I can still do my thing.”
Quick Step are sending a strong team to challenge on the flatter parcours, with Gert Steegmans and Gerald Ciolek to accompany Boonen. He said he expects a great team atmosphere at the Tour as that’s always when he’s performed his best.
That same atmosphere is the reason why he has decided to extend with the team for another two seasons, as stated yesterday.
Quick Step for Tour de France: Tom Boonen (BEL), Sylvain Chavanel (FRA), Gerald Ciolek (GER), Kevin De Weert (BEL), Dries Devenyns (BEL), Addy Engels (NED), Jerome Pineau (FRA), Gert Steegmans (BEL) and Niki Terpstra (NED)