Tom Boonen
Tom Boonen is a Belgian former professional cyclist active from 2002 to 2017. Infamous for his sprint and his helmsmanship on cobblestones, Boonen is a four-time Paris-Roubaix and a three-time Tour of Flanders winner. He has won E3 Saxo Classic a record five times, dethroning Rik Van Looy. In 2005, he became UCI World Road Champion in Madrid, Spain. He had a longstanding rivalry with the Swiss Fabian Cancellara in cycling's spring classics. Boonen has won six individual stages of the Tour de France (all were bunch sprints). He won the Tour de France points classification (green jersey) in 2007.
After Boonen came close to a second world road title in Doha, Qatar (winning a bronze medal, losing to Peter Sagan while Mark Cavendish took silver) as well as a fifth victory in Paris-Roubaix (he finished as runner-up) in the 2016 season, the Belgian retired on 9 April 2017 with a thirteenth place in Paris-Roubaix, which has always been his favourite race.
Boonen started a new life and career as a racing driver (mainly driving in the 24H Series) in BelCar and NASCAR Elite 2. He is a son of former cyclist André Boonen.
After Boonen came close to a second world road title in Doha, Qatar (winning a bronze medal, losing to Peter Sagan while Mark Cavendish took silver) as well as a fifth victory in Paris-Roubaix (he finished as runner-up) in the 2016 season, the Belgian retired on 9 April 2017 with a thirteenth place in Paris-Roubaix, which has always been his favourite race.
Boonen started a new life and career as a racing driver (mainly driving in the 24H Series) in BelCar and NASCAR Elite 2. He is a son of former cyclist André Boonen.
