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Podium l-r) Maarten Wynants (Bel) / Sean De Bie (Bel) / Pieter Van Speybrouck (Bel) (Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Julien Vermote (Bel) running through the sand (Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Nikolas Maes (Bel) running through the sand (Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Floris De Tier (Bel) and David Boucher (Bel) try and avoid one another in the sand pit (Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Andre Greipel (Ger) in the sand pit (Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Marcel Kittel racing at Boonen and Friends 2015 (Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Boonen and Friends 2015 charity cyclo-cross race (Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Boonen and Friends 2015 - Michal Kwiatkowski (Pol) and Tom Boonen (Bel) (Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Geert Wellens (Bel) (Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Marcel Kittel (Ger) and Marcel Sieberg (Ger) go head-to-head through the sand pit (Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Marcel Kittel looks like he's having a great time racing cyclo-cross (Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Jurgen Van Den Broeck (Bel) (Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Pieter Van Speybrouck (Bel) in the sand pit (Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Maarten Wynants (Bel) negotiates the sand pit (Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Sean De Bie makes riding in the sand look easy (Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
James Van Landschoot (Bel) (Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Michal Kwiatkowski (Pol) (Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Tiesj Benoot (Bel) looks like he's enjoying himself (Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Niki Terpstra (Ned) (Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Davide Bramati (Ita), Marc Patry (Bel) and Dirk Clarysse (Bel) take part in Boonen and Friends 2015 (Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Zdenek Stybar (Cze) (Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Nikolas Maes (Bel) (Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Andre Greipel (Ger) (Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Maarten Wynants (Bel) (Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Sean De Bie (Bel) (Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Marcel Kittel (Ger) joins Boonen and Friends 2015 (Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Marcel Sieberg (Ger) (Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Zdenek Stybar (Cze) (Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
ves Lampaert (Bel) (Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Nikolas Maes (Bel) (Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Zdenek Stybar (Cze) (Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Yves Lampaert (Bel) (Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Marcel Kittel (Ger) (Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Marcel Kittel joins Boonen and Friends 2015 (Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Boonen and Friends 2015 with Guillaume Van Keirsbulck (Bel) (Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Boonen and Friends 2015 with Stijn Vandenbergh (Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Boonen and Friends 2015 with Yves Lampaert (Bel) (Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Boonen and Friends 2015 with Niki Terpstra (Ned) (Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Boonen and Friends 2015 with Andre Greipel (Ger) (Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Jurgen Van Den Broeck (Bel) (Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Michal Kwiatkowski (Pol) (Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Stijn Vandenbergh (Bel) (Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Jens Keukeleire (Bel) (Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Niki Terpstra (Ned) (Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
David Boucher (Fra) (Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Andre Greipel (Ger) (Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Sean De Bie (Bel) wins Boonen and Friends 2015 (Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Michal Kwiatkowski (Pol) (Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Lukasz Wisniowski (Pol) (Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Boonen and Friends 2015 podium (l-r): Maarten Wynants (Bel) / Sean De Bie (Bel) / Pieter Van Speybrouck (Bel) (Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Sean De Bie (Bel) wins Boonen and Friends 2015 (Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Sean De Bie (Bel) takes the win (Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Sean De Bie (Bel) wins Boonen and Friends 2015 (Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Sean De Bie (Bel) victory salute at Boonen and Friends 2015 (Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Sean De Bie (Bel) (Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Sean De Bie (Bel) on his way to winning Boonen and Friends 2015 (Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Maarten Wynants (Bel) (Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Zdenek Stybar (Cze) (Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Maarten Wynants (Bel) (Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Andre Greipel (Ger) at the start of Boonen and Friends 2015 (Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Tom Boonen (Bel) and Maarten Wynants (Bel) at the start of Boonen and Friends 2015 (Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Nicolas Maes (Bel) with Tom Boonen (Bel) at Boonen and Friends 2015 (Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Tom Boonen (Bel) with Tiesj Benoot (Bel) at Boonen and Friends 2015 (Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Tom Boonen at Boonen and Friends 2015 (Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Michal Kwiatkowski (Pol) and Lukasz Wisniowski (Pol) (Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Michal Kwiatkowski (Pol) (Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Zdenek Stybar (Cze) (Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Zdenek Stybar (Cze) (Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Sean De Bie (Bel) (Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Etixx-QuickStep 's Tom Boonen did not start his sixth annual charity event Boonen and Friends 2015 but there was a star-studded group that joined in the day's cyclo-cross race held at the Zilvermeer in Mol, Belgium. In the end, it was Sean De Bie (Lotto Soudal) who took the win ahead of Maarten Wynants (LottoNL-Jumbo) and Pieter Van Speybrouck (Topsport Vlaanderen-Baloise).
They day's event included some 50 professional riders including Boonen's Etixx-QuickStep teammates; Michal Kwiatkowski, Nikki Terpstra, Stijn Vandenbergh and Zdenek Stybar. Other big names were Marcel Kittel (Giant-Alpecin), Andre Greipel, Jurgen Van den Broeck and Tiesj Benoot (Lotto Soudal), to name a few.
Boonen is still recovering from a head injury, temporal bone fracture, sustained in a crash at the Abu Dhabi Tour in October. He is confident that he will recover in time for the Spring Classics.
Check out the gallery of participants racing the Boonen and Friends 2015.