Trainer says Boonen can get better

Tom Boonen's trainer Peter Hespel believes that we haven't seen the best of "Tornado Tom", as he is nicknamed in Belgium. The sports physiologist from the Catholic University in Leuven sets up Boonen's training programs, and knows him like no-one else. "Tom has a big heart," said Hespel to Sportwereld.be, before giving a detailed run-down of Boonen's physiological stats.

Boonen's maximum heart rate is 195 bpm. "That doesn't mean much," said Hespel. "That could also be the case with you and I. But the heart of a top athlete like Boonen can pump much more blood per beat, so-called a sports heart. The average resting heartrate of a typical person is 60 to 80 beats per minute. Tom Boonen's is just above 40. That's also normal. The average rider has a resting heartrate of around 45 beats per minute.

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