Quick Step urges counseling for Boonen
- By VeloNews.com
- Published May. 11, 2009
Team Quick Step’s management has urged Tom Boonen to undergo professional counseling after his second positive test for cocaine, but added that it would stand by him while he serves a suspension.
The 28-year-old Boonen, Belgium’s top cyclist, is facing up to what could be a premature end to his impressive career after his second positive test for cocaine, which came just two weeks after winning Paris-Roubaix for the third time.
He first tested positive for the drug in May 2008.
In a joint statement posted on the team’s website Quick Step announced that “a guidance plan will be drawn up” to help Boonen, adding that his problem “does not concern an addiction in the true sense of the word” but involved “an intelligent young man, with good surroundings and a stable family life who takes his responsibility in the majority of situations,” but required counseling for “sporadic” use of the drug.
The team proposed counseling by a specialized psychologist or psychiatrist, with weekly consultations at first, plus regular drug testing — urine tests every two weeks and hair analyses at least three times annually.
In the meantime, the team said, Boonen is suspended and a financial sanction is being worked out.
“In due course it will be communicated when Tom is ready to get back into competition,” the statement concluded. It was signed by Quick Step boss Frans De Cock, team manager Patrick Lefevere and Boonen. —Agence France Presse contributed to this report.