Dirk Demol has warned teams not to write off Tom Boonen ahead of his final Classics campaign. The Trek Segafredo director worked with Boonen during a stint at QuickStep and has witnessed the veteran rider prove his doubters wrong on many occasions.
“People have said before, a few times, that his best is behind him. I remember they said he was finished once and then he came back in 2012 and won everything from Harelbeke to Paris Roubaix,” Demol told Cyclingnews.
“Then, remember after his crash in Abu Dhabi in 2015 people said the same thing. It was a very hard fight to come back but he almost won Paris-Roubaix this year. Then if you look at his performance at Worlds, where he finished third, it showed that when he has his goals he’s still a big contender."
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Boonen, 36, has already announced that he will retire from professional cycling at the end of the 2017 spring classics campaign and many expect that QuickStep will unite behind him for one last time. Demol expects such a scenario, despite the Belgian team holding a number of potential cards to play.
“The team that he has around him, they’ll be there for him. In the past, when I worked with him it was easy to calculate the tactics because it was everything for Tom. He deserved that because of his palmares. I think it will be Wilfried Peeters in the car so if it’s down to him I think they’ll back Tom once again in his last campaign.”
Demol will take charge of a new classics line up at Trek Segafredo next season. With Fabian Cancellara now retired a new contingent has been assembled with John Degenkolb moving across from Giant Alpecin. Demol expects another open Classics season, and points to the strength in depth at a number of squads.
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