Tom Boonen (Etixx-QuickStep) has spoken to cyclingnews.com about what makes the Tour of Flanders so special. Boonen has taken victory in the race three times, in 2005, 2006 and 2013. However, he won’t be racing this year as he is still recovering from injuries sustained in a crash at Paris-Nice.
“It all takes part in this mythical place, small climbs, cobblestones,” Boonen says. “The people really get into it. There is like 1.5-2 million people watching the race on site so it’s a special, special race. For the riders it’s a lot of chaos, a lot of catastrophe, crashes and trying to get to in one piece to the final and just hope you have enough juice left to finish off the race.
Regarding which is Boonen’s favourite win of his three?
“The first one because nothing compares to your first time and I was still young and finished solo. It was everything together.”
