Boonen: "I never lost confidence"

April 13 ^th 2008 - 17:23

You were the stronger in the sprint? _ _ “After such a long race and at that pace, you know anything can happen in the sprint, but when we reached the velodrome, I surged and it turned out I was the fresher. I didn’t look back but I think the gap was big with them. _ _ It must be especially sweet after all the criticism you faced? _ _ "I never lost confidence but when you win just a little fewer races, people say ‘he’s not as strong as he used to be’. I already won six races this season and tell me how many other riders have done that much?” _ _ Is it special compared to 2005? _ _ "It is because it was a long time since I last won a race of this calibre. Everybody knows that the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix are the races I love and dream of winning. I had thought about this race for the past three months, even reviewing the cobbled sectors in my mind. So obviously, winning it allows you to get rid of all the things that had been going through your mind for weeks.