Boonen still confident

By Brecht Decaluwé in Dax

After the finish of stage 9 in Dax, won by Oscar Freire, Tom Boonen reacted very cool after another chance had gone begging. Still, the World Champion showed some arrogance, as he was quoted as saying, "Put all the major sprinters in the Tour on one line, at 200 metres from the finish line; I'll win with an advantage of four bike lengths on the second sprinter."

The Belgian, still without a victory in this Tour, was unhappy with Milram's lead out man, Marco Velo. He didn't do anything wrong, but Boonen said that he had made a "smart" move which hindered him.