Boonen's worldly statement

By Bjorn Haake in Zamora

With the world championships just around the corner, Tom Boonen's second Vuelta stage win came as a timely reminder that the Belgian is one of the favourites to become the king of the road again.

With his second stage win in the Vuelta a España, Belgian Tom Boonen showed he is ready to fight for the rainbow jersey in Varese, Italy. Boonen ended a hot day in Zamora ahead of Filippo Pozzato (Liquigas) and Heinrich Haussler (Gerolsteiner) to prove he's in good shape ahead of the world championships in less than two weeks' time.

The 2005 world champion felt very comfortable with his form, having started the race with an early sprint win. Towards the end of a hard Vuelta, he is gaining more confidence ahead of the world championships. "To start with victory on the third day and then one day before I go home shows that my condition has not decreased, but increased."

Boonen emphasised his good condition by saying he was very strong, even in the mountains. Of course, he knew how to evaluate that. "If you are feeling strong in the mountains, you still have to see how it goes in the sprint."

Obviously, the signs are good for Boonen. He could especially feel his zing in the last two kilometres, when it really counts. "You know it's the third week. This is when everybody is tired." Boonen knows that positioning is everything and his Quick Step team, including the impressive Paolo Bettini, led Boonen out perfectly.

The Belgian believes the sprints in the third week play out differently than those in the first week. "The muscles are tired and everybody is waiting for Madrid. If you can still win then it shows you have a clear head and strong legs." Boonen explained that his injuries weren't bothering him anymore, although his Vuelta had been far from ideal. His knee was still bothering him a bit as he headed through mountains during the second week. "It was not really the best way to recover. I crashed one day before the first rest day, then we had the three mountain stages; the one in Andorra in really bad weather," he said.

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