Tom Boonen back in business
After having an excellent 2012 season, Tom Boonen of Team Omega Pharma-Quick Step had to face a little disappointment, suffering from severe intestinal infection.
The cyclist spent three days in hospital and had to miss the team’s building camp, however he is now back on his bike joining the team in Mallorca to begin training for the new season.
The Belgian has not fully recovered as the doctors are still not sure as to when the infection will be fully cured.
Team Director Wilfried Peeters was delighted to have his main back in the training camp in Mallorca and stated that Boonen’s presence makes a huge difference as he brings a lot of energy in the camp.
"Tom spent four hours training with his teammates on Tuesday," Peeters told Het Nieuwsblad.
"This morning [Wednesday] he cycled with [Zdenek] Bakala and two hours in the afternoon there was the fitness program. Everything was completed normally, but I think it's too early for an evaluation. Only after week training can we safely draw conclusions".
The cyclist had a busy 2012 season with several podium finishes in his bag helping his team with a solid contribution of 410 UCI points throughout the year.
The team managed to secure the fourth overall position after the UCI Elite Men team’s rankings with a total number of 1162 points after Team, Team Katusha and Team Liquigas-Cannondale at the top three spots.
The Belgian is targeting the Classics for the new season and stated that he cannot afford to stay off his bike any longer to ensure that he start the 2013 season from where he left in the new season.
“I'm at a point where I must have a lot of racing in my legs for the Classics. That worked this year,” he said earlier.
He managed to bag a total number of 13 races in the season including the Paris-Roubaix and the Tour of Flanders and is hopeful to continue his winning momentum for the season ahead.
“It was a special year with the new Tour of Flanders and my fourth win in Roubaix," he said.
Tom is not expected to ride the Tour de France 2013 alongside new teammate Mark Cavendish as he plans to kick-off his New Year campaign at the Tour de San Luis 2013.
Tags: