Tom Boonen spent most of his career at Quick-Step; however, the Belgian began his professional career in 2001 with the US Postal Service. For two seasons, he competed under the leadership of Johan Bruyneel and shared the team with cyclists like Lance Armstrong, who was at the peak of his career.
Contact with Lance Armstrong
In an interview with the podcast “Fotos com Brk Dry,” he was asked if he had much contact with Armstrong. Boonen responded, “Actually yes. I always did training camps with the team that would go to the Tour de France. They trained for a longer time, while the Spring Classics team was much faster. Lance was a super relaxed person, in his own world. He protected the teammates around him.”
After Christmas message, six years without talking to Armstrong
“When I left the team, I sent a message to everyone at Christmas to thank them for the fantastic year. I received many nice messages back. And then, suddenly, I got a message from Armstrong. He sent, ‘Good luck, you’re going to need it.’ I was 21 at the time…”
“Lance didn’t talk to me for six years after that. I was like, ‘Whatever, man.’ During all the races where Armstrong and I were at the start, I would pass by him and say, ‘Hey, Lance.’ And he would turn his head to look into space. I was just laughing at him.”
Detestable
“In 2006-2007, he was in misery and needed help. And then, suddenly, there he was. ‘Hey, Tom.’ I didn’t help him. The way he treated his friends was detestable. With his best friend Frankie Andreu, for example.”
“Frankie was a wonderful person, and we got along very well,” says Boonen. “He exposed Armstrong, but everything he said was true. Armstrong is a terrible person in that respect. He should have confessed a long time ago. He’s back in the media now with his podcast, but it’s actually a nightmare.”
Everything revolved around Armstrong
Did Boonen notice anything about doping within the team? “Fortunately, I was never eligible to participate in the Tour,” says Boonen. “It was just the group around Armstrong. If I had stayed with that team, I would have ended up on that Tour team anyway.”
“You can’t do anything else. You’re thrown into that system. They all got caught. I was very lucky to have signed with Quick-Step. We immediately said we wouldn’t participate in that. Rabobank, US Postal, T-Mobile… they were still doing it, but you felt it was crumbling. One scandal after another broke.”
Watch the full interview.