Face of Flanders: Tom Boonen

“Tommeke” has always held a special place in the hearts of Flemish cycling fans. Although his performances were inconsistent, and he was busted three times for taking cocaine, he was a battler who came back again and again, winning three Tours of Flanders, among many other trophies.

The 36-year-old finished in 13th on Sunday – the race was won by fellow Flemish cyclist Greg Van Avermaet – but his peers were effusive in their praise. Boonen, a specialist in one-day events, has won many of the sport’s biggest races.

He was world champion in 2005, held the yellow jersey on the Tour de France for four days in 2006, and the following year he took home the coveted green jersey for sprinters. He won Flanders’ E3 Harelbeke five times, Gent-Wevelgem three times, and Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne three times.

Unusually large for a cyclist, at 1.92m, the man from Mol was Belgium’s great cycling hope 10 years ago, named as the heir to Eddy Merckx. It was in 2005 that Boonen became the first cyclist to win the Tour of Flanders, Paris-Roubaix and the World Cycling Championship in the same season – as well as the Belgian Sportsman of the Year award.

But he has had his setbacks. Boonen had knee surgery in 2010, followed by a lengthy rehabilitation. During the 2011 Tour de France, the last time he competed, he hit the asphalt.

That’s not to mention his cocaine shame in 2008 and 2009; although it is not performance-enhancing like EPO, the drug of choice for the cyclists, it is still banned. And the fact that Boonen continued using it a year after he was first caught suggested a somewhat distracted temperament.

On Sunday, he insisted he had no regrets. “The last few weeks has been a rollercoaster of emotions,” he said. “For me, this is the best race in the world. And also, it’s just time for me, I’ve been feeling it since last year.”