For more than a decade, the road to Tour of Flanders victory has gone through Tom Boonen, but he lines out for this year’s race in an unfamiliar role: an outsider in his own land. His Etixx-QuickStep team, too, have fallen short in the Classics so far this season, and they arrive at the Ronde under pressure to change the complexion of their campaign with a win.
Boonen being Boonen, and Belgium being Belgium, he still managed to draw the masses to a home furnishing showroom off the motorway at Wielsbeke for Etixx-QuickStep’s final press conference on Friday afternoon, where he wore his reduced standing lightly.
“If I’m honest, I will not be a big favourite for Sunday,” Boonen said. “But I think last week we saw a very strong team [at E3 Harelbeke and Gent-Wevelgem]. Tactically I don’t think we made any error. It’s a week later now, and I think everyone is improving. I think we have to expect that everybody will be on his best level, hopefully me as well.
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“I don’t know what’s fair to expect as a goal, but if I have to put a number on it: I think if I’m like I was last week, then I’ll be able to be up there in the final.”
Etixx-QuickStep boast enviable strength in a line-up that includes Zdenek Stybar, Niki Terpstra, Matteo Trentin and Stijn Vandenbergh, but at times they remind one of a football team that dominates possession but lacks a clinical striker. “As a whole, I think our team is stronger than in the past, but I think we’re missing out on that one guy who is 1 percent stronger than the rest,” Boonen said.
In years past, of course, that man has been Boonen. “There’s years when you’re favourite, there’s years when you aren’t a favourite, but the objective is always the same,” he said. “The media puts a stamp on it but I don’t think it makes any difference to how you approach the race.”
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