Belgian has recovered from problems that have blighted his 2010 season as he prepares for 2011
Tom Boonen (Quick Step) has declared himself ready for the 2011 season as he prepares for his “Tom Boonen and Friends” charity cyclocross race at Zilvermeer in his hometown of Mol, Belgium next weekend. The former Belgian and World champion suffered from problems with his left knee after a crash in the Tour of California in May, which caused him to miss the Tour de France. He underwent surgery in mid-July to treat a lesion in his pre-patellar band which has, he says, been ultimately successful.
On December 5th Boonen will be organising his charity race for the second time, which is something he does for fun, as well as to raise money.
“Cyclocross has always been an enjoyable pastime to do in the winter,” he told Sporza. “In 2009 I had the idea to organise a race to raise money for Move to Improve, and that’s what we’ve done.”
Filippo Pozzato, Alessandro Ballan and André Greipel are among the names who will be taking part in the event on December 5th. “I asked most of the participants personally if they wanted to participate,” he explained. “It’s a lot of fun,”
The 2005 World champion only returned to racing at the Circuit Franco-Belge at the end of September, but since the season ended he has hardly had any time off before he prepares for next year.
“I only really stopped for two weeks,” he said, “I went on holiday and that’s basically it.”
The knee that caused him so many problems this season is now free from pain and he is able to train for the 2011 season, which he will begin at the end of January in the Tour Down Under in Australia; this is a little earlier than usual as he has previously tended to begin a little later with the Tour of Qatar in February.
“It’s going very well now,” he said, “when I ride my bike it doesn’t bother me. In normal life it hurts now and then, people know that following surgery.”
“My legs are equal again,” he explained, “I didn’t affect it with two weeks vacation; that’s why I started a bit earlier than in previous years. I’m also doing fitness training and boxing as well, that’s something different.”