Boonen not afraid of Cavendish ahead of Milan-San Remo

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Tom Boonen has one hundred career victories but one which is missing in his palmares is Milan-San Remo. The Omega Pharma-Quick Step rider is aiming to correct that tomorrow, but admits that the race is wide open. “The team is good, I'm ready. Only you never know whether that is enough to win Milan-San Remo."

In an interview with Het Nieuwsblad, the 31-year-old emphasized that, saying, “I am close to my top form, but it is difficult to express in percentages. You can be good, but the finish is another thing. I will try, I'm ready, but you never know."

He rates his chances as high: “Sure, I have confidence in a good result. I have been close there with a second and third place, but in the Italian classic you never know. It is a very nervous race. You must be constantly alert, have an eye for detail to win. "

He sees his main competitors for the title as Oscar Freire (Katusha) and Peter Sagan (Liquigas-Cannondale), because “both of them can easily get over the Cipressa and Poggio.”

Sky's Mark Cavendish is also a possibility. “Sure he is the fastest to the finish line. Everyone realizes that. But you never know,” Boonen said. Even if the race ends in the expected mass sprint, “you still do not know whether Cavendish can win. Intrinsically he is the fastest, but after three hundred kilometers it is a different sprint. I'm not afraid to measure myself against him.”