Tom Boonen Quotations

On the last lap it was very important that several members of the Belgium team were always up at the front,

I didn't look for him and I didn't see him. If you base your race on another rider, most of the time you lose.

I crashed and it hurt a bit, but it did not affect the sprint. I was on the left, he was on the right.

I have a feeling I can go on do well the remaining stages as well. With my team's support, I think I can dominate this Tour.

For me, the Tour started today and I really wanted to win a stage because, after next Sunday, there will not be that many chances for sprinters to win stages and the man in the green jersey might take it to Paris,

I thought there was a huge gap between me and some of the riders, but I was able to finish like I normally do with a flourish. But I tell you it was a hard day for me and my team. Actually I am a bit surprised that I was able to win.

I was very motivated and very focused, ... I found some extra motivation from all the comments that said Boonen wasn't in shape,' but I knew I would be ready for the world's.

I was unable to move up one gear but I still managed to keep pedaling and win that great sprint as you all saw.

The credit goes to my team-mates for allowing me to have a good day in the stage. My team is what you call a dream team. Each one of us supports the other fully.

Everything was fine before the final sprint. My team mates had done a great job and suddenly my chain slipped, I nearly went over and crashed.

First you have to be in a good position, then enter perfectly the last corner. Then you have to get out of the corner with enough speed. And only after that, you sprint straight away. It is going to be a very hectic and hard sprint.

The world's is the only race that matter for me. My goal here at the Vuelta is sharpen my fitness. If I win a stage, great, but the most important thing at the Vuelta is to leave stronger than I came.

The Three Days are reputed to be dangerous, it's true, but I'd rather ride than stay at home and dawdle. I could train instead of risking a crash racing, but I'd rather occupy my mind in competition.

It's OK that the others are ahead of me here. It doesn't worry me. I really didn't try in this Vuelta, ... I'm only here to prepare for the world championships. That's the only thing that matters to me right now.

It's okay that the others are ahead of me here. It doesn't worry me. I really didn't try in this Vuelta. I only came to the Vuelta to recuperate my fitness and I leave here at about 80 percent fitness. If I was here at top fitness I might not have reached the peak at the world's. At Madrid, I want to be 110 percent fitness and I didn't want to peak too early.

It's good for the team's morale and now we'll be able to sit back a bit during the rest of the week. We're not looking to win the general classification but that doesn't mean we won't be going out to win.

It's good to have won that stage because now we can relax and take it easy until the end of Paris-Nice.

The Belgian riders did everything for me, ... I didn't have to work hard until the end. At the finish, Mario Aerts gave me perfect position.

I'm not a 100 percent satisfied, but let's say 98 percent,

I'm lacking a little competition, but the knee is fine. It doesn't hurt and it's good enough to start the Vuelta and begin my preparations for the world's.

In the last 300 meters I saw Alejandro start to sprint for the finish line but I just kept going and waited for the 200 meter mark to start mine, ... I never had a doubt about any of the riders in the team. They were great today, especially on the last lap.

I like this race. I won it two years earlier, one year after having crashed right at the finish line. I have great memories, because this race offered me beautiful moments at the start of my career.

I had felt it coming. My legs felt really tired on Monday and Tuesday as well.

I don't want to look for any excuses, some riders were just better than me.

(Alejandro) Valverde is going to drop some bombs. And if it ends up finishing in a bunch sprint I'm not sure Petacchi will get his Italian train going,

Alejandro started to go for the line about 300 meters out and I just kept on his wheel and eventually managed to get past him.

The financial side of it is pleasant of course, but that is not the main reason for me leaving my parental home in Balen. I would like to lead a bit of a normal life again. It will be nice to walk down the street without people staring at me. Every day there's a dozen of interested fans at my front door; it's getting too much. I'm getting a bit fed up with having to tell the same story twenty times a day to people I don't know at all, or having to listen to their stories. Monaco will be a better place for me to train also, in winter I often don't have the courage to go out in the bad weather, in the South training will be easier.

The conditions were very difficult, but I had ticked off this stage and it's great to have finally won it.