Boonen rides through pain to sixth place

Tom Boonen rode through his pain on Thursday to place sixth in the mass sprint finish in Pontevedra. The Quickstep rider had earlier that day disclosed that he was suffering from an open groin wound which makes it extremely painful to sit on the saddle.

“In the beginning I felt good and I rode along,” he told Het Nieuwsblad. “But with the miles, the pain from the hole in my perineum got stronger. As a consequence, you push a higher gear and destroy your good legs. And then you miss the explosiveness.”

For the next few days, “I will try to survive the mountains in Asturias. Maybe I can pick out a stage afterwards. It's pretty hard work again the next day, but I will to go to Madrid. I have to go.”

Boonen said that the heat and sweat had cause an irritation in the perinium, which had become an open wound.