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Tom Boonen

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Tom Boonen (born on October 15, 1980 in Mol, Belgium) is one of the world's best professional road bicycle racers and is the 2005 World Road Race Champion. He is considered a single-day road race specialist with a strong finishing sprint. His personality and looks, combined with his successes, also turned him into Belgium's main male sports idol of the mid-2000's.

Contents

Career overview

2002

At the start of 2002 Tom rode for the United States Postal Service Pro Cycling Team, and finished third in a muddy, rainy Paris-Roubaix. He was part of an early breakaway and continued to work for his team captain George Hincapie, even towards the end of the race. Fellow Flemish rider Johan Museeuw had escaped off the front of the race to his solo victory, and Hincapie crashed in a slippery section of the course, leaving Boonen to ride for himself.

This remarkable third place in his first ever Paris-Roubaix compelled Museeuw - his childhood hero - to publicly declare him his natural successor.

However, Tom was not completely happy at US Postal, claiming he did not get enough chances to ride for himself. Around October of that year, he announced he would leave the team, despite being under contract. This was a very unusual and brave decision for a young racer like him, one that was greatly criticized by the team, including the Boss himself, Lance Armstrong.

Quick.Step then offered him a place in their Belgian team starting in the 2003 season.

2003

The 2003 season, however, did not go well for Boonen, who saw lacklustre performance due to fatigue. In this season Museeuw was the undisputed team leader for the spring classics campaign.

2004

The 2004 season saw Boonen rise up to the challenge to win the E3 Prijs Vlaanderen, the classic race Gent-Wevelgem and the Grote Scheldeprijs. In addition, he also won two stages of the Tour de France including the prestigious final stage in Paris, just like Johan Museeuw did years ago.

2005

2005 saw Tom Boonen ascend clearly into the history books as one of the great cyclists of his generation. Winning the Tour of Flanders, Paris-Roubaix, E3 Prijs Vlaanderen, and finishing second in the Omloop "Het Volk" (behind teammate Nick Nuyens), he stamped his authority on the brutal cobbled Spring Classics.

In his Tour of Flanders victory Boonen was considered the strongest sprinter in the final group of riders. However, instead of waiting for the final moment, he attacked a few kilometers from the finish to the surprise of other riders in the group, and stayed away for a solo victory. One of the other riders in the peloton, Erik Dekker, afterwards declared that he was "happy that he would not have to race against Boonen the next ten years, because [he] would have to race for second place". In his Paris-Roubaix victory, he entered the Roubaix velodrome in the leading trio, and waited until the last moment before launching a sprint that saw him beat American George Hincapie and Spaniard Juan Antonio Flecha.

In the Tour de France, he won the second and the third stage. In this edition, Boonen was tipped as a possible winner of the green jersey. However, after several crashes, he retired from the race after stage 11, yielding the jersey to Norwegian Thor Hushovd, who became the eventual winner.

On September 25 he became the twenty-first Belgian World Champion after the World Cycling Championships in Madrid. A seven-man breakaway was reeled in in the final straight by the group that he was in, before he powered home ahead of Alejandro Valverde. He is the first Belgian since Museeuw, in 1996, to don the rainbow jersey.

Tom Boonen is the first cyclist in history to win the Tour of Flanders, Paris-Roubaix, and the World Cycling Championship in one and the same season. With these victories he secured second place in the overall standings of the 2005 ProTour.

Boonen preparing for a mountain stage in the 2006 Tour de France
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Boonen preparing for a mountain stage in the 2006 Tour de France

Boonen currently rides for Quick.Step-Innergetic and lived in Balen (Belgium) before moving to Monaco (end 2005). This move, disguised as "an escape from intrusive fans" was probably in reality to profit from the favourable Monaco tax system.

At the end of the year Boonen won several awards: Kristallen Fiets (Crystal Bicycle), Vélo d'Or (Golden Bicycle), Trofee voor Sportverdienste (Trophy For Sporting Merit), Belgian Sportsman of the Year 2005 and Belgian Sports Personality of the Year.

2006

In 2006, Boonen again had an incredible start of the season (see palmares), highlighted by winning the Tour of Flanders again. He was also strong in Paris-Roubaix, but had bad luck with a passing train.

After the incredible start, Boonen diminished and had a somewhat disappointing Tour of Belgium. Before the start of the 2006 Tour de France, Boonen claimed that he considered himself the strongest and smartest sprinter. However, he did not win a stage in the first week and found himself outclassed by the speed of Robbie McEwen and the clever tactics of Freire. In spite of this, Boonen was able to claim the yellow jersey for the first time in his career, but soon lost it in the first time trial to time trial specialist Sergei Gonchar.

Boonen pulled out of the Tour de France during the 15th stage over 187km from Gap to l'Alpe d'Huez.

Palmares

2006

Boonen signing in at Tarbes during the 2006 Tour de France
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Boonen signing in at Tarbes during the 2006 Tour de France

2005

2004

2003

2002

Lack of Rivals

Though Boonen's current one-day dominance is unquestioned, his rise to prominence has come just after the retirement of several great classics riders, including Museeuw, Andrea Tafi, Andrei Tchmil and Franco Ballerini. This lack of proven winners among his rivals (Peter van Petegem and Paolo Bettini are the only active racers other than Boonen with more than a single victory in the classics) may have helped inflate Boonen's palmares somewhat, though as other younger riders (such as Fabian Cancellara and Filippo Pozzato) make their mark, it will be easier to determine the true value of Boonen's victories.

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