A week after his abandon in stage 15 of the Tour, world champion Tom Boonen is back on the bike again and racing in the post-Tour criterium in Diksmuide, Belgium. Boonen is also down to start in Peer on Wednesday and Herentals on Thursday, before doing the UCI 1.1 Luk Challenge Bühl with teammate Sebastien Rosseler this Saturday. He is not expected to start in the Vattenfall Cyclassics in Hamburg, but is scheduled to do the Eneco Tour between August 16-23.
"I'm not 100 percent better, but I will still start in the post-Tour criteriums because I don't want to disappoint the fans," Boonen was quoted by Belga as saying. "These races require a lot of energy, but luckily are only short. The HEW [sic], on the other hand, is one of the longest races. With my current condition, it's better to be careful in not starting, and therefore not putting my planned starts in other races in danger."
