Tour de France: Tom Boonen dropped out again?
Belgian cyclist Tom Boonen is out of the Tour De France once again. The professional road bicycle racer was previously charged for the usage of cocaine in 2008 and was barred instantly from the Tour de France and the Tour of Switzerland. Boonen was convicted in February 2009, and the Belgium court found him guilty but subjected no penalty against Boonen. The racer could have been charged with fines up to $155,000 and five years in jail.
Boonen was yet again found under the influence of cocaine in 2009 and was suspended by his team "Quick Step". This was the third occasion when the cyclist tested positive for cocaine. Boonen has a long history of drug addiction which was first reported in 2007. After a long struggle, the desperate racer was allowed to race in the Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré. He won his first National Championship but was not allowed to enter the Tour de France. Finally, after the players long term legal struggle, Tom Boonen was allowed to participate in the Tour de France. But his happiness was short-lived as the cyclist dropped out due to illness in the 14th stage.
Boonen has won major titles during his professional career. The cyclist started his career in 2002 when he cycled for the U.S. Postal Service Team. After a year, Boonen joined the Quick Step-Davitamon team. However, Boonen did not perform well owing to his injuries. By 2005, the striving rider had won 5 titles including the E3 Prijs Vlaanderen, Paris-Roubaix, Ronde van Vlaanderen, Tour of Belgium and the World Cycling Championship. He also made a record to be the first cyclist ever to win so many titles in a year.
Boonen finished at the second spot in the Tour de France in the same year. Despite his achievements, he was made to retire by the 11th stage due to his numerous clashes against other competitors.
By the end of the year, Boonen not only won several world titles but won numerous awards such as the Vélo d'Or, which means “Golden Bicycle” and is considered to be the most prestigious award in cycling. Tom followed it up with the Belgian Sports Personality of the Year and the Belgian Sportsman of the year. He was also the first cyclist from Belgium to ever wear a rainbow jersey.
Year 2006 for the cyclist could not have been any better as the player won Ronde van Vlaanderen again for the second time. However, as Tour de France began, it wasn’t so startling for Boonen because he lost in the first week to sprinter Oscar Freire. He also lost the yellow jersey that he had won for the first time in his career to a trail specialist, Sergei Honchar. This led him to abandon the Tour de France while he was in the 15th stage.
Boonen lost a lot of weight according his manager and needed to rest until he regained some strength and weight. Later in the year, Tom appeared in the UCI Road World Championships and lost his previous title to teammate Paolo Bettini.
The Tour of Qatar held in 2007 was a good race for the rider as Tom won 5 stages in the tour. In the same year, Boonen won many local races like the Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne. In the middle of 2007, the Belgian cyclist participated in the Tour de France and won a few stages, obtaining the green jersey.
2008 was the year when trouble began for the cyclist as he tested positive in a drugs test for using cocaine. However, the World Anti-Doping Agency and the International Cycling Union did not charge him of anything because cocaine is not considered as a performance enhancing drug. Boonen apologized to his team by holding a press conference clarifying that he was deeply sorry and will abstain from making such a mistake again. Lamentably, Boonen was disqualified from the upcoming Tour de France and the Tour of Switzerland.
In 2009, Tom Boonen was caught with cocaine once again. Despite the set-back, Tom managed to win the Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne for the second time. Not only this, but he also won the Ronde van Vlaanderen followed by the Paris-Roubaix for the third time in his career.
There were too many ups and downs in his career over the years. However, the hard working cyclist had to drop out of Tour de France for the third time in his career. But for a change, he will miss it due to injuries. Yet the professional cyclist keeps coming back only to prove mettle in front of his fans.
Tags: