Boonen considers legal action

World Champion Tom Boonen is defending himself against insinuations from a Belgian senator, Jean-Marie Dedecker, who said that he had "information according to which three Belgian top cyclists had received performance-enhancing drugs in Italy in February." Even though no names were mentioned, Boonen feels that he is being linked to doping, and now considers legal action against the senator.

"When somebody speaks of top cyclists in our country, everybody thinks of Tom right away," said Patrick Lefévère, team manager of Quick Step-Innergetic. "We're examining legal action against Dedecker for damaging his reputation."