An interview with Tom Boonen

King for a day

This morning, Tom Boonen said that he wanted to win the stage, grabbing the maillot jaune by default. He didn't win, but he did grab the lead, and as a consequence, 'Tommeke' will have the honour of riding through his home country draped in yellow tomorrow. From one Belgian to another Brecht Decaluwé spoke to the man who will be king for a day.

Q: Tom Boonen, how happy are you with this yellow jersey?

TB: Actually, I tried to win the stage but I had to deal with a flattening tire in the last five kilometres. It was very dangerous to stand on the pedals, so I stayed in the saddle and rode defensively. I hoped that everything would be brought back together, but that didn't happen.

Q: Hushovd and McEwen couldn't keep up with the pace on the Cauberg, so you were the only real sprinter in the peloton. Did you know you would be so strong?

TB: I expected that they would have to let go. On the hill of the 'Haute Levée' the pace was hard, but not impossible. I saw that McEwen and Hushovd exploded there, so I told the team they needed to make the race harder. The final was very hectic, which made the race hard to control.

Q: How long do you think you can keep this yellow jersey? Do you think you might keep it for four days, until the individual time trial?

Click here for the full interview

A bad day for crashes