Could Classics legend Tom Boonen be set for comeback? "I'm still a bit hesitant but it's starting to tickle again"

Arguably the greatest Classics rider of his generation, the now 42-year-old Tom Boonen could be set for a comeback as he admits he is "considering looking for some competition on the bike again."

Speaking at the Velofollies cycling fair, Boonen discussed how that urge to start racing has returned nearly six years after he rode his last race at Paris-Roubaix in 2017. "I'm still a bit hesitant, but it's starting to tickle again," Boonen reveals. "I think of something like the Roc du Maroc or some gravel races."

Could we see Boonen competing against the likes of Wout van Aert, Mathieu van der Poel and Tom Pidcock in an era crossing dream race? "Who knows. In any case, it is becoming very big, has a lot of potential. I get it, because it goes back to the essence of cycling: nature, freedom."

Another possibility for the Belgian is a role as a coach however he doesn't seem fully convinced by the prospect just yet. "Never say never. When I first retired, I had the chance to do something like that at Quick-Step, but in the end I said I wanted to do something different, take a breather after all that attention. But it's not that I don't have that ambition. I'm not looking at all, that will come back sometimes. I'm still young."