Tom Boonen misses World Championships after Vuelta a Espana crash – Cycling News
Tom Boonen crashed during stage 15 of the Vuelta a Espana 2011 as he broke the scaphoid in his left hand. He realised the intensity of the crash right away as he mentioned that only a miracle can make him ride at the World Championships. New tests have shown
a further fracture which was not seen before as it was covered by swelling.
The Belgian has now accepted his faith and has decided to finish the season early as the Vuelta crash has totally ruled him out of the World Championships. Tom was keen to participate in the Championships but he has decided to end his season and give time
to the recovery process. Belgian National selector Carlo Bomans commented about him as he said, “We agreed that it made no sense for him to go to Copenhagen. He still had pain, and could not even ride on the rollers this week, and so couldn’t train on the
road. A selection was therefore pointless.”
Boonen mentioned that he has felt an increase in the pain on his left hand racing under such conditions is just not possible. Boonen briefed that he is hoping for a full recovery so that he can race in the coming year and also hoped for some luck to keep
him away from crashes in future.
Philippe Gilbert will be leading the Belgian team in the World Championships and he will be accompanied by Klaas Lodewyck, Olivier Kaisen, Jurgen Roelandts, Johan Vansummeren, Greg Van Avermaet, Nick Nuyens, Kevin de Weert and Bjorn Leukemans. Tom was really
disappointed after he realised his participation in the World Championships is not possible as he said, “I’m really upset, I really wanted to participate in this World title. The route was perfect for me and the preparation program I was working on would have
taken me to the championship event in top form.”
Boonen won the World Championships in 2005 and has leaded his team in many main events. It will be interesting to see how team Belgium fills the gap created by the loss of such a brilliant rider. Nevertheless, the top rider at the UCI World Tour rankings
as of September 2011 is Philippe Gilbert and he is pretty much capable to lead any team towards the podium.
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