Tornado Tom suffered an injury-hit 2013 campaign after his phenomenal clean sweep of the cobbled Classics in 2012 and has been a man on a mission this season as a result.
The tragic news of his wife’s miscarriage saw him miss Milan-San Remo and he appeared, unsurprisingly given the circumstances, light on race fitness at E3 Harelbeke, but Boonen is the name on every cycling fan’s lips ahead of the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix.
If you’re looking for a man who knows how to win two of cycling’s biggest one-day prizes then you need look no further than Boonen. His palmares contains three Tour of Flanders successes and four Paris-Roubaix victories, and he became the first rider to achieve two ‘doubles’ when he won both in 2012. Victory in either will make him the singularly most successful rider in the races’ respective histories – an honour he currently jointly holds in both.
And the former world champion has been on top form so far this season, clocking the miles at the Tour de San Luis before a stunning effort at the Tour of Qatar – first controlling the bunch to seal stage victory for Niki Terpstra before powering to two stage victories of his own.
On the cobbles, Boonen overcame a disappointing showing at the Omloop by surging to a dominant victory at Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne, assisted by a phenomenal team effort. At E3 Harelbeke he got caught behind a crash and with two team-mates up the road didn’t chase back to the leading group. Fifth at Gent-Wevelgem showed Boonen is returning to form in time to go for glory over the next two weekends.
Likely to be supported by Terpstra, ‘cross world champion Zdenek Stybar, Matteo Trentin and compatriots Iljo Keisse, Nikolas Maes, Guillaume van Keirsbulck and Stijn Vandenbergh, Boonen also boasts one of the strongest support teams in the peloton.
Tom Boonen – form guide
Tour of Flanders best results: Winner – 2005, 2006, 2012
Paris-Roubaix best results: Winner – 2005, 2008, 2009, 2012
2014 best results: Tour of Qatar – two stage wins, second overall; Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne – winner; Gent-Wevelgem – fifth
Team (likely): BOONEN, Zdenek Stybar, Niki Terpstra, Matteo Trentin, Iljo Keisse, Nikolas Maes, Guillaume van Keirsbulck, Stijn Vandenbergh
