Tom Boonen voted Belgian Sportsman of the Year for the third time
Tom Boonen has won the Belgium’s Sportsman of the Year award for the 2012 season with a clear victory over the other participants. It is the third title for the Belgian and the sixth consecutive year that a cyclist took the award.
Tom Boonen gained the maximum number of 658 votes overcoming decathlete Hans Van Alphen (423 points) and Philippe Gilbert with 403 points.
The Belgian had a terrific 2012 season with several top performances in his bag including the first place finishes at the World Team Time Trial Championships, National Road Race Championships and an overall victory at the Tour of Qatar along with point’s
classifications and two stages at the event.
"Such an award is always the result of a strong season, now we concentrate on preparing for the new season. Hard work, that is the message, and then the rewards will come,” Boonen told sportwereld.be.
The cyclist missed the ceremony as he is currently training in Mallorca for the team training camp after recovering from a severe intestinal infection that made him spend three days in hospital.
“After my illness I didn't want to risk it. With my health everything is now back in order. Last Friday I had another test done and the results were all good. I can work well again and stay even a few days longer in Majorca to work on my condition,” he noted.
The 32-year-old marked his 2012 debut with a stage 7 victory at the Tour de San Luis and also bagged a stage each at the Paris-Nice and the World Ports Classics 2012.
He finished first at the Paris-Roubaix, Tour of Flanders, Gent-Wevelgem, E3 Harelbeke and Paris-Brussels 2012 along with a second place finish at the Omloop Het Nieuwsblad and fourth at the Vattenfall Cyclassics 2012.
Boonen has now fully recovered from the virus and is all set to kick-off the new season with a vision of a record-breaking fourth win at the Tour of Flanders in his mind.
“The one big difference is that [unlike in 2012] we’ve all done the route before, so we know what it’s like,” Tom said.
It will be interesting to see, if the Belgian manages to enter the record books by winning the fourth Tour of Flanders in the season ahead.
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