Quick Step's Tom Boonen to make a new start in 2011
Belgian rider Tom Boonen has vented his frustration after completing an injury-ridden 2010 season at the Putte-Kappelen race in Belgium.
Boonen sustained a knee injury after crashing at the Tour of California in May. The Quick Step rider returned for the Tour de Suisse in June, only to crash again and aggravate the injury.
"Half of me wants to forget it as quickly as possible," Boonen told Belgian daily
Het Niewsblad about his season, adding that starting the Tour de Suisse proved a crucial mistake. "We significantly underestimated the rehabilitation. An injured knee and races don’t really go hand in hand. It was trial and error for months on end.
Both physically and mentally it was very tough."
As a result of the injury, the 29-year-old missed the Belgian championships, the Tour de France, whose points classification Boonen won in 2007, and the UCI Road World Championships in Australia.
Boonen eventually returned to racing last month, but expressed his frustration at having to race cautiously.
"I really had to start from scratch. It takes so much energy just to build a base. It’s difficult just to ride along. I’m used to racing; I’m used to making the race."
Pressure to perform during next season
The rider, who has been with Quick Step since 2003 and collected eight stage wins on the Grand Tour for the Belgian outfit, is central to manager Patrick Lefevere's bid to find a new sponsor for the 2012
season.
Despite his team's expectations, Boonen said that the pressure he feels ahead of 2011 comes primarily from himself.
"I have ambition, I’ll be easily motivated for the winter. I feel a kind of pressure, like I must do something, show something. But it comes mainly from myself. I feel little pressure from the outside."
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