Tom Boonen in his national champion's jersey(Image credit: Photopress.be)
Tom Boonen (Omega Pharma-Quickstep) celebrates his victory in the Belgian championships(Image credit: Photopress.be)
By taking the Belgian road race championship, Tom Boonen has once again confirmed that he is back to former glory after two relatively difficult seasons. The Omega Pharma-QuickStep star already won the tricolor jersey in 2009, but pulling it back over his shoulders last Sunday in Geel was an enormous satisfaction.
"This was a real goal, I am overjoyed," he told Sportwereld. "The Belgian champion's jersey is still a highly respected one in the peloton. Each life has its ups and downs. Now, I have my share of bad luck behind me. This year, it's going good. I have to try and harvest the fruit of my hard work and aim at the last targets of this year."
After having scored four Classics this spring, including the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix, Boonen is on a career-high and hopes to stretch his good fortune to the London Olympics. Having chosen not to race the Tour de France, he will fine-tune his form at the Tour of Poland.
"Now, I already have a jersey and I can prepare for the Olympic Games without pressure. I still have to get a tad better as the Games will be more difficult, racing against Mark Cavendish. His Team Sky has been brought to life with the sole purpose of the London Olympics. But I'm on schedule. I expect to be in top shape there," Boonen said.
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