Lore Van de Weyer's lucky charm

Tom Boonen's girlfriend Lore has been at the finish line of almost every race Tom has ridden this year. She follows her hero around the course and is there to give him a big hug once he crosses the line in victory. During the RVV, miss Van de Weyer, a shop-assistant in a video store, must have experienced one of the most nervous times of her young life. When Tom embraced her after his great effort, she had a hard time grasping what just happened.

"I can hardly bear the thrill," Lore Van de Weyer told Het Nieuwsblad. "Too many emotions. I think I won't be able to sleep. This was an unforgettable hug. We fell into each others arms and shed some tears of happiness. We didn't even talk, but acted a bit silly as always. This was one of Tom's biggest goals this season. We rarely talked about it but this is what he worked for the whole winter. Those last kilometres were nerve wrecking. The lucky charm my brother Joris gave us worked. I keep the secret and won't tell you what it is; it was in my bag, that was enough."