Tom Boonen (Dutch pronunciation:[ˈtɔmˈboːnə(n)]; born 15 October 1980) is aBelgian formerroad bicycle racer,[1] who competed as a professional between 2002 and 2017 for theU.S. Postal Service andQuick-Step Floors teams and a professional racing driver who currently competes inBelcar, having previously competed in theNASCAR Whelen Euro Series. Boonen won the2005 UCI World Road Race Championships, and was a single-day road specialist with a strong finishingsprint. He won the cycling monumentsParis–Roubaix four times and theTour of Flanders three times, among many other prestigious victories, such as prevailing five times in theE3 Harelbeke, winning six stages of theTour de France and winning the Overall title of theTour of Qatar four times.[2]
At the start of 2002 Boonen rode forU.S. Postal Service, finishing third inParis–Roubaix after an early breakaway. FellowBelgianJohan Museeuw had escaped to a solo victory. Team captainGeorge Hincapie crashed in a slippery section of the course leaving Boonen to ride for himself. Boonen's performance led Museeuw – his childhood hero – to declare Boonen his successor.[3]
Boonen said US Postal did not give him enough chances to ride for himself. Towards the end of the year he said he would leave, despite being under contract, and joinedQuick-Step–Davitamon at the start of 2003.[4] The 2003 season, however, did not go well, with lacklustre performance due to fatigue and knee injury. Museeuw was team leader for the spring classics.
During the 2004 season Boonen won theE3 Prijs Vlaanderen,Gent–Wevelgem and theScheldeprijs. He also won two stages of theTour de France including thefinal stage in Paris, as Museeuw did in 1990.
In 2005 Boonen won theTour of Flanders, Paris–Roubaix and the E3 Prijs Vlaanderen, and came second in theOmloop "Het Volk" behind teammateNick Nuyens. He was first to win the Tour of Flanders, Paris–Roubaix, and theWorld Cycling Championship in the same season.
In the Tour of Flanders Boonen appeared to be the strongestsprinter in the final group. However, he attacked a few kilometers from the finish to the surprise of others and stayed away.Erik Dekker said:"I'm happy that I am near the end of my career, since with a cyclist like Boonen the spring classics will be rather boring the coming years".[5] In Paris–Roubaix, Boonen entered the velodrome in the leading trio, and waited until the last moment before outsprinting George Hincapie and the Spaniard,Juan Antonio Flecha.
In theTour de France, Boonen won the second and third stages, taking the lead in thepoints classification. He retired after stage 11 due to injuries sustained in crashes. On 25 September Boonen became the 21stBelgian roadworld champion. He won the race inMadrid, after the leading six riders were caught. He outsprintedAlejandro Valverde to become the first Belgian since Museeuw, in 1996, to wear therainbow jersey. He came second in the2005 UCI ProTour rankings.
At the end of the year Boonen won several awards:Kristallen Fiets (Crystal Bicycle),Vélo d'Or (Golden Bicycle),Trofee voor Sportverdienste (Trophy For Sporting Merit),Belgian Sportsman of the year andBelgian Sports Personality of the Year.
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In 2006, Boonen won the Tour of Flanders and came second inParis–Roubaix the following week.Leif Hoste,Peter Van Petegem andVladimir Gusev placed second to fourth at Roubaix but were disqualified for riding through a closed level-crossing before a train passed. This promoted Boonen to second, behindFabian Cancellara.
Boonen won the second and the third stages of theTour of Belgium. Before theTour de France he claimed himself to be the strongest and smartest sprinter[citation needed]. However, he did not win a stage in the first week, beaten byRobbie McEwen andÓscar Freire. However he wore the yellow jersey for the first time, losing it in the first time trial toSergei Honchar. Boonen abandoned the Tour during the 15th stage – 187 km from Gap to l'Alpe d'Huez – when he was unable to reach the summit of theCol du Lautaret.
Boonen won three stages of theEneco Tour of Benelux but could not keep his title at theworld championship, held on a circuit that was hillier than in Madrid 2005.Paolo Bettini won and Boonen came ninth.
In his 2007, Boonen won five stages of theTour of Qatar and came second in the general classification behind teammateWilfried Cretskens. He wonKuurne–Brussels–Kuurne and E3 Prijs Vlaanderen but he didn't win one of the five cycling monuments. His best placing was third inMilan–San Remo.
Boonen won stages 6 and 12 of the Tour de France in the absence ofAlessandro Petacchi and Robbie McEwen. He won thepoints classification in the Tour de France, the first Belgian sinceEddy Planckaert in 1988 to do so.
Boonen began 2008 by winning four stages and the overall and points classifications in the Tour of Qatar. In the Tour of Flanders, he took on a defensive role when his teammateStijn Devolder escaped and won. A week later, he outsprinted Fabian Cancellara andAlessandro Ballan in the final 500m to win theParis–Roubaix. On 10 June 2008, reports said Boonen was negotiating a team place for him and other riders atBouygues Télécom, a French team. Itssporting director,Jean-René Bernaudeau, confirmed the report.Wilfried Cretskens andKevin Hulsmans were named as the others involved.[6]
Negotiations ended when Boonen tested positive forcocaine. Cocaine was not a performance-enhancing drug and Boonen faced no sanctions by the UCI or WADA. He apologized to his Quick Step manager, Patrick Lefévère at a press conference next day. Lefévère said Quick Step kept its confidence in him. But Boonen was barred from theTour of Switzerland and theTour de France.[7][8] In February 2009 a Belgian court found him guilty of cocaine use but decided against sanctions, saying he has "been punished enough".[9][10]
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Boonen began 2009 by winning a stage and the overall and points classifications in theTour of Qatar. He also wonKuurne–Brussels–Kuurne for the second time. In theTour of Flanders he had to take on a defensive role when his teammate Stijn Devolder escaped and won for the second time. The following week Boonen wonParis–Roubaix for the third time in his career.
On 27 April, Boonen tested positive for cocaine for the third time (the first, in November 2007, had not previously been made public). He was suspended by his team,Quick-Step, on 9 May.[11] He began racing again in theCritérium du Dauphiné Libéré. In June, he won the national championship. After initiating legal proceedings he was allowed to compete in theTour de France, just one day before the start on 3 July 2009. He pulled out, due to illness on 18 July, before the 15th stage.
He returned to racing in theEneco Tour where he won the third stage by beatingTyler Farrar in the sprint. After that he entered theVuelta a España to prepare for the final part of the season. There, he finished second in the prologue behind Cancellara. He crashed in the seventh stage, a 30 km time trial, losing by 1m 03s and ended the day second overall behind Cancellara. He withdrew during the 13th stage, due to the lasting effects of his crash in the seventh stage.
He finished his season with a second place inParis–Tours, beaten in a sprint of three by fellow countryman and defending championPhilippe Gilbert.
Boonen became third in theTour of Qatar, winning two stages, then won stage five of theTour of Oman. He won the second stage ofTirreno–Adriatico, before finishing second toÓscar Freire inMilan–San Remo. Boonen came second to Fabian Cancellara in theE3 Prijs Vlaanderen – Harelbeke,[12] a result replicated at theTour of Flanders. He came fifth inParis–Roubaix the following week.
Boonen missed most of the rest of the season – including theTour de France, theBelgian and theworld championships – due totendinitis in his left knee caused by crashes at theTour of California and theTour de Suisse. He returned to racing in October at theCircuit Franco-Belge andParis–Tours.
Boonen began the season by winning the opening stage of the2011 Tour of Qatar. He wonGent–Wevelgem, came fourth in theTour of Flanders and dropped out ofParis–Roubaix after crashing. Boonen also crashed on stage five of the Tour de France. His injuries forced him to abandon on stage seven. Boonen fell again in theVuelta a España, which made him miss theworld championship.
Boonen began 2012 season by winning stage seven of his first race, theTour de San Luis. In February, he won theTour of Qatar, winning two stages and the points classification, and finished second toSep Vanmarcke inOmloop Het Nieuwsblad.
Boonen won the second stage ofParis–Nice. He won theE3 Harelbeke andGent–Wevelgem two days later. He was favourite for theTour of Flanders, which he won in a sprint againstFilippo Pozzato andAlessandro Ballan. His third victory equalled those ofAchiel Buysse,Fiorenzo Magni,Eric Leman andJohan Museeuw. His fourth win in Paris–Roubaix equalledRoger De Vlaeminck. Boonen was first to win the Tour of Flanders and Paris Roubaix double twice. He is also the first to winE3 Harelbeke,Gent–Wevelgem,Tour of Flanders andParis–Roubaix in the same year.
Boonen returned to racing at theTour of California. He won the national championship title in June, taking the tricolor jersey fromPhilippe Gilbert.[13]
Boonen skipped theTour de France to prepare for theOlympic road race, riding the shorterTour of Poland instead. He crashed in the first stage and withdrew on the fifth[14] with a broken rib,.[15] He recovered in time for the Olympics, and came 28th.[16]
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Boonen won the first edition of the two-day stage raceWorld Ports Classic, winning the first stage in a sprint. He won the points classification and the overall lead after coming third on the second stage.[17] One week later Boonen wonParis–Brussels.
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In January, Boonen spent a week in hospital with a serious infection after suffering a wound on his elbow.[18] He returned to action in February in theTour of Oman but could finish only 83rd in the General Classification.[19] In March, he retired from bothGent–Wevelgem and theTour of Flanders following crashes.[20][21] He did not take the start ofParis–Roubaix when a fractured rib was diagnosed.[22] Boonen won his first race of the year at the Heiste Pijl, an event not classified by the UCI,[23] then was the victor of the second stage of theTour de Wallonie in July.[24]
The season started well for Boonen as he took the second place overall behind his teammateNiki Terpstra and the points classification jersey in the mostly flatTour of Qatar.[25] His next feat came atKuurne–Brussels–Kuurne, where he was part of a breakaway of 10 containing four of his teammates and threeBelkin Pro Cycling riders. The breakaway made it home and Boonen had the better ofMoreno Hofland in the sprint by a slim margin.[26] He placed well inParis–Roubaix and theTour of Flanders, coming in tenth and seventh position, respectively.
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At the2015 Omloop Het Nieuwsblad Boonen made the decisive break with teammatesNiki Terpstra andStijn Vandenbergh, along withIan Stannard (Team Sky). With 4.5 km remaining Boonen attacked but was gradually brought back by Stannard. After Terpstra's immediate counter-attack failed, Boonen was unable to follow Stannard's own attack, and finished third as Stannard outsprinted Terpstra for victory.[27] On 9 March Boonen crashed out ofParis–Nice, suffering a dislocated shoulder which ruled him out of the rest of the classics season.[28] Boonen returned to racing in late April, at theTour of Turkey, where his role was to lead-out his teammateMark Cavendish. He was preparing in Turkey for his first appearance in the Giro d'Italia.[29] He abandoned the Giro after Stage 13 to participate to theTour of Belgium, where he won the opening stage by outsprintingArnaud Démare.[30]
Boonen's season was brought to an end by a crash on the second stage of theAbu Dhabi Tour in October, which left him unconscious. He sustained a temporal fracture from the accident. After initially being told by doctors that it would take six months to recover, in a newspaper interview in December Boonen stated that he was training well two months after the crash without any trouble. However the accident had left him with permanent damage to his hearing. He also said that he was "100 per cent certain" that he would compete inmotor racing after retiring from competitive cycling, with the aim of competing in the24 Hours of Zolder.[31]
After enduring a relatively quiet series of performances through most of the cobbled classics,[32] Boonen finished second atParis–Roubaix, being pipped on the line byMat Hayman.[33] Despite not clinching the win, Boonen's aggressive performance in the race was acclaimed by former Paris–Roubaix championsBernard Hinault andGilbert Duclos-Lassalle, who described him as "a warrior" and "magnificent" respectively.[34] In July he announced that he had signed a short-term contract with Etixx-Quick Step and would retire immediately after the2017 Paris–Roubaix.[35] Later that month, he won theLondon-Surrey Classic in a sprint finish,[36] as well as theBrussels Cycling Classic. He ended the season with third place in theWorld Championship road race inQatar, where he was beaten by reigning world championPeter Sagan andMark Cavendish.[37]
At the very beginning of the season, Boonen won stage 2 of theVuelta a San Juan.[38] This was the first professional victory for a cyclist usingdisc brakes.[39] However, he subsequently suffered a series of crashes at theTour of Oman,Omloop Het Nieuwsblad andTirreno–Adriatico.[40] AtMilan–San Remo, Boonen worked as a domestique for his teammates, helpingJulian Alaphilippe to third place.[41] He resumed his cobbled classics campaign atE3 Harelbeke, where he animated the race with an attack on the Taaienberg on his way to an eighth-place finish.[42] He followed this up with a sixth place atGent–Wevelgem, which he described as a satisfactory result, and a good indicator of form going into the cobbled Monuments.[43]
At theTour of Flanders, Boonen had an eventful race: he led the Quick-Step squad into the foot of the Muur van Geraardsbergen, where he helped to force a breakaway group alongside team leader and eventual race winner Philippe Gilbert, and played a key part in enabling the group to distance the bunch. However his own hopes of scoring a podium finish were scuppered by a mechanical problem on the Taaienberg, and he finished the race in 37th place.[44] He next raced at theScheldeprijs, his last race in Belgium, which paid tribute to Boonen by starting in his hometown of Mol. He was part of the lead-out train which helped teammateMarcel Kittel take the win.[45] At his final race, Paris–Roubaix, Boonen finished 13th: after being part of the lead group with 35 km to go, he encouraged teammate Zdeněk Štybar to follow an attack by Daniel Oss, eventually enabling the Czech rider to finish the race as runner-up toGreg Van Avermaet.[46]
In February 2018 it was announced that Boonen had joined forces with Quick Step's long-time Belgian rivals,Lotto–Soudal, becoming a shareholder in the team and taking up the roles of technological adviser and ambassador for the team's Captains of Cycling supporters' programme, and linking up with his former agent Paul De Geyter, who had joined the squad as general manager in September 2017.[47][48]
In June 2017, Boonen was awarded his motor racing licence after passing the required tests.[49] The following month he made his car racing debut in theVolkswagen Beetle-basedFun Cup, competing in the 25 Hours of the VW Fun Cup at theCircuit de Spa-Francorchamps: he and team-matesAnthony Kumpen, Bert Longin and Ruben Van Gucht finished in 29th place out of 118 starters, 15 laps down on the winning team of Cédric Bollen, Fred Caprasse,Guillaume Mondron and Fred Bouvy.[50]
Boonen made his full season racing debut in 2018, competing in theNASCAR Whelen Euro Series for Braxx Racing in the Elite 2 class.[51][52] Boonen scored a Top-10 finish in the second race of the season atValencia. He scored another Top-10 finish in the final race of the season atZolder and finished 13th in the standings with two Top-10 finishes throughout the year.
For the 2019 season, he drove for Deldiche Racing in theBelcar championship. He escaped major injuries during a crash atAssen that year after he collided with Kenneth Heyer at high speed. Heyer's car was launched into the air and landed on top of Boonen'sNorma M20-FC, narrowly missing Boonen's head by centimeters.[53][54] In addition to his Belcar campaign, he also initially signed a deal to compete part-time in the NASCAR Whelen Euro Series withPK Carsport but the deal never materialized.[55]
Boonen won the Group CN division of the2019 GT & Prototype Challenge in a Norma M20 FC and again in2021.
Boonen used to live inBalen, in theFlemish Region of Belgium until moving toMonaco in late 2005. He stayed there a few years until deciding to move back to Belgium in early 2012.[56] In 2015, his longtime girlfriend Lore gave birth to twin girls. He tweeted the news saying: "Our family has been extended with two little princesses. Valentine and Jacqueline both weigh 2.4 kg. The babies and mom are doing fine".[57]
In 2016, Boonen paid back several million euros to the Belgian tax authorities for failing to declare his income while being a legal resident of Monaco. The investigators argued that Boonen spent most of his time in Belgium and was therefore required to pay taxes in accordance with Belgian tax law.[58]
Road race, National Under-23 Road Championships
Young rider classification
Mountains classification
OverallTour de Picardie
Points classification
Points classification Young rider classification Points classification
Road race,UCI Road World Championships OverallTour of Belgium Points classification Points classification
OverallTour of Qatar Points classification Points classification after Stages 3–6Points classification Points classification OverallTour of Qatar Points classificationRoad race, National Road Championships OverallTour of Qatar
Team time trial,UCI Road World ChampionshipsRoad race, National Road Championships OverallTour of Qatar Points classification
OverallWorld Ports Classic Points classification Points classification
Team time trial,UCI Road World Championships
Points classification
Team time trial,UCI Road World ChampionshipsRoad race,UCI Road World Championships| Monument | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Milan–San Remo | — | 78 | 75 | 8 | 4 | 3 | 29 | 15 | 2 | 28 | 22 | DNF | — | — | 55 | 65 |
| Tour of Flanders | 24 | 25 | 25 | 1 | 1 | 12 | 17 | 20 | 2 | 4 | 1 | DNF | 7 | — | 15 | 37 |
| Paris–Roubaix | 3 | 24 | 9 | 1 | 2 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 5 | DNF | 1 | — | 10 | — | 2 | 13 |
| Liège–Bastogne–Liège | Did not contest during career | |||||||||||||||
| Giro di Lombardia | ||||||||||||||||
| Classic | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 |
| Omloop Het Nieuwsblad | 63 | 5 | — | 2 | 13 | 3 | 85 | 10 | 59 | 35 | 2 | 84 | 33 | 3 | 11 | DNF |
| Kuurne–Brussels–Kuurne | 7 | — | 9 | 22 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 1 | DNF | 101 | 42 | NH | 1 | 29 | 69 | DNS |
| Dwars door Vlaanderen | — | 34 | 28 | 80 | 5 | 1 | 37 | 3 | 20 | 9 | — | — | 14 | — | — | — |
| E3 Harelbeke | — | 12 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 2 | 2 | — | 1 | 7 | 11 | — | 14 | 8 |
| Gent–Wevelgem | 7 | 3 | 1 | 26 | 117 | 27 | 150 | 71 | DNF | 1 | 1 | DNF | 5 | — | 20 | 6 |
| Scheldeprijs | — | 103 | 1 | 4 | 1 | — | 2 | 56 | 18 | 116 | 130 | — | 84 | — | 103 | 43 |
| London–Surrey Classic | Race did not exist | 73 | — | — | — | — | 1 | — | ||||||||
| Brussels Cycling Classic | — | — | 41 | — | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | 1 | — | — | 3 | 1 | — |
| Paris–Tours | 22 | 102 | — | — | DNF | — | 10 | 2 | 136 | — | — | — | — | — | 21 | — |
| 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Olympic Games | Not held | — | Not held | — | Not held | 28 | Not held | — | NH | |||||||
| World Championships | 38 | 17 | DNF | 1 | 9 | — | 38 | 38 | — | — | 12 | — | 49 | 35 | 3 | — |
| National Championships | — | — | — | — | 3 | 2 | 5 | 1 | — | 7 | 1 | DNF | 3 | 8 | DNF | — |
| — | Did not compete |
|---|---|
| DNF | Did not finish |
| NH | Not held |
| DNS | Did not start |
| Year | Team | Co-Drivers | Car | Class | Laps | Pos. | Class Pos. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 |  Yokohama Power Racing | Olivier Hermans Mike Janssen Chris Van Woensel | Ford Mustang | Belcar 1 | 64 | DNF | DNF |
| 2018 | Heinz POWERKIT.shop byWolf Racing |  Ivan Bellarosa Guglielmo BelottiAnthony Kumpen Bert Longin | Wolf GB08 Tornado | Belcar 2 | 780 | 4th | 2nd |
| PK Carsport | Christophe Beliën Frank Beliën Pedro BonnetAnthony Kumpen Bert Longin | Porsche 991 GT3 Cup | Belcar 1 | 676 | 20th | 6th | |
| 2019 | Deldice Racing by JTB | Sam Dejonghe Thomas Piessens | Norma M20-FC | Belcar 1 | 586 | 29th | 5th |
| 2022 | RedAnt Racing |  Kevin Abbring Jimmy de Breucker Kobe de Breucker Luc Vanderfeesten | Porsche 992 GT3 Cup | GTA | 621 | 19th | 9th |
| 2023 | PK Carsport |  Alon Day Koen De Wit Matisse Lismont | BMW M2 CS | TA | 732 | 8th | 1st |
| 2024 | Rush Drivers Collective by NGT | Fréderic Bouvy Toon Hungenaert Simon Tourneurt Gilles Verleyen | Porsche 992 GT3 Cup | GTA | 763 | 7th | 7th |
(key)Bold - Pole position awarded by fastest qualifying time (in Race 1) or by previous race's fastest lap (in Race 2).Italics - Fastest lap. * – Most laps led. ^ – Most positions gained.
| NASCARWhelen Euro Series – Elite 2 results | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Team | No. | Make | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | NWES | Pts | ||
| 2018 | Braxx Racing | 91 | Chevy | VAL 12 | VAL 10 | FRA 21 | FRA 11 | BRH 13 | BRH 14 | TOU 17 | TOU 12 | HOC 14 | HOC 26 | ZOL 12 | ZOL 10 | 13th | 339 | ||
| UCI Road World Champions –Men's road race | |
|---|---|
| 1927–1938 |
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| 1946–1959 |
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| 1960–1979 |
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| 1980–1999 |
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| 2000–2019 |
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| 2020–2039 | |
| UCI Road World Champions –Men's team time trial | |
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Tour of Flanders winners | |||||
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