• News
• Road
• Tour de France

Boonen did not contest the stage 2 sprint. Where was he?

by VeloNews.com

• July 05, 2009
• Comments Off

By Agence France Presse

Belgium’s Tom Boonen said Sunday he was more concerned about staying on his bike than sprinting for victory after a crash just before the finish of the second stage of the Tour de France.

A right-hand bend just under 2km before the end of the 187km stage between Monaco and Brignoles caused confusion in the peloton, causing some riders to crash and forcing the Quick Step sprinter to ride around the pileup.

The deviation cost the 2005 world road race champion several places, but as part of the peloton he receives the same time as stage winner Mark Cavendish (Columbia-HTC), despite finishing 174th.

“I had no choice but to follow the deviation around the crash,” said the 28-year-old Belgian.

“It’s the first days of the Tour de France and no one wants to take any risks. Of course, I want to show I am a sprinter, but I didn’t think it was wise to take a chance and I am just happy I didn’t crash.

“It’s very early days yet.”

It has been a tough few days for Boonen, who was only given the green light to ride in this year’s Tour de France on Friday, but was then beset by diarrhea and abdominal pains in Saturday’s time trial; he finished 116th.

The illness, according to Quick Step team manager Patrick Lefevere, was brought on by the stress of learning just 24 hours before the start that the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) had cleared him to race.

Organizers had barred the Belgian rider following a positive test for cocaine in April — his second such positive in less than a year. Boonen missed the 2008 Tour after testing positive for the drug in May last year.