Now fully recovered from the concussion, bruising and cuts he suffered during the Tour de France, Tom Boonen will return to competition this Sunday when he lines out in the Tour de Pologne. Despite the lost racing time, he’s feeling upbeat and is ready to get going once again.
“In the last 10 days I’ve been working out really well, without any particular problems from my fall in the Tour,” he said. “I’m trying to further improve my conditioning, which was already fine in France. I had an excellent week of training with some challenging rides but also with the right recuperation times. Now I’m feeling really good on my bike.
“I’m looking forward to Poland. I have the ambition to put myself to the test and try to win a stage. Also on the climbs I’m going to try to hang in there more than I have in the past, to see how far I’ve come.”
Boonen has had a relatively quiet season, by his own previous standards. While he won a stage of the Tour of Qatar and took Gent-Wevelgem, fourth in the Tour of Flanders was his best showing in the Classics. He’s been off the pace in the bunch sprints he has contested in the short stage races. The Belgian hoped to step up a level by taking a stage win in the Tour de France, but was forced out of the race due to his bad crash.
Now he’s back in action, and sounds motivated to do something in Poland. “It will be interesting to return to racing in the Tour de Pologne; this is the race where I made my professional debut in 2000,” he said. “I’ve had a look at the route and I noticed that almost all the stages that are adapted to my skills end up on a city circuit. On these types of tracks it’s important to have a good pedal flow and to never get caught off guard. These are normally gnarly routes.
“I think in the future more and more races will be held on circuits. They cause fewer problems from an organizational standpoint and they’re easier for spectators to access, especially in big cities. Poland is definitely an important race in my program as I prepare for the Vuelta and the World Championship.”
He will be joined by compatriots Kevin Seeldraeyers and Kristof Vandewalle, Italians Dario Cataldo, Francesco Chicchi, Davide Malacarne and Francesco Reda, as well as the Dutchman Marc de Maar.
The WorldTour race begins in Pruszkow and ends seven days later in Krakow.
-----
Tour de Pologne:
July 31, stage 1: Pruszkow – Warszawa, 101.5 km
August 1, stage 2: Czestochowa - Dabrowa Górnicza, 159.6 km
August 2, stage 3: Bedzin – Katowice, 135.7 km
August 3, stage 4: Oswiecim – Cieszyn, 176.9 km
August 4, stage 5: Zakopane – Zakopane, 201.5 km
August 5, stage 6: Terma Bukovina - Bukowina Tatrzanska, 207.7 km
August 6, stage 7: Kraków – Kraków, 128.0 km