Pro Cycling News – Boonen Takes Third, Willems Wins Besseges, Nys Injured

I know, I missed the GP Overture yesterday. But I was in a hurry. Depending on when you looked at the site, you may have noticed that I forgot to add a title – just think of all the Google searches for “Tom Boonen Qatar” that will never find my page. Seriously, though, one guy who wishes he’d missed the GP Overture is Tour Down Under winner Aussie Simon Gerrans of Ag2r, who went down in this little pile-up at the finale. He broke a collar bone, tore some ligaments and is no doubt in a world of ouch, preparing for surgery today in hopes that he’ll be back for the Commonwealth Games. There’s been little luck among our velcro-soled friends recently, as New Zealander Julian Dean was apparently so beat-up after some gut surgery that he couldn’t even write his own diary entry.

Today is February 1st, and with his win today in Qatar (yes, another one – he’s 3-for-3 at the event) Tom Boonen makes it five consecutive months without a road loss. Another rider starting February off on the right foot is Belgian Frederik Willems of Chocolade Jacques, who slipped away from the break in the closing minutes to take the Etoile de Besseges. Yes, February is the month when Euro cycling gets underway in earnest. Just ask Oscar Freire, who’s pumped for a return to action this month, or Cycling.TV, whose coverage of the ’06 season begins with live (and apparently free) webcasts of Het Volk and Kuurne-Bruxelles-Kuurne. For a full rundown of the dinky month’s cycling highlights, click here. One dude not so psyched to see the calendar turn? Sven Nys, whose crash at ‘Cross Worlds left him with a fissure in his right hip.

Possibly related content: