Boonen in second cocaine test

BRUSSELS – Belgium’s top cyclist Tom Boonen admitted he had a ‘problem’ on Saturday after a second positive test for cocaine threw his career into serious jeopardy.

•BENOIT NOEL

News of Boonen’s positive test was confirmed by the public prosecutor’s office earlier on Saturday after widespread coverage in the Belgian media.
Quick Step rider Boonen, who recently claimed a third victory in the prestigious Paris-Roubaix one-day classic in April, tested positive two weeks after the race.
Speaking on Belgian TV show Sporza on Saturday night, the 2005 world champion admitted that he had a problem.
‘The night before the drug test, I went out,’ he said. ‘I stayed for a while and I drank. At some stage I must have taken something. Then I had a blackout.
‘I think I have a problem. After spending three to four months working, when I go out I probably over-step the mark and I become someone else.
‘For 364 days a year, it’s perfect. I try to be an exemplary citizen. But the day that I drink too much, something that I don’t do often, I change. I will now seek help.’
Stunned team manager Patrick Lefevere has spoken to Boonen, and he hinted that the Belgian star’s future was now hanging in the balance.
‘I really don’t know what to say. I’m certainly not at home dancing around my living room: I’m very disappointed,’ Lefevere, who signed Boonen from Lance Armstrong’s US Postal team in 2003, told Sporza.
Quick Step subsequently announced that Boonen was suspended from racing.
Boonen also tested positive for the recreational drug in May last year and although he managed to escape criminal charges, he paid in sporting terms by missing the Tour de France – one of his biggest goals of the season.
At the behest of race organisers who were worried about the negative impact Boonen’s presence might have on the 2008 race, Quick Step promptly pulled the Belgian star off their race roster.
News of his latest positive test led prosecutors on Friday to order a raid on Boonen’s home. No details have been released, but the possession of cocaine in Belgium carries a punishment of between three months and five years in prison and a fine of 1 000 to 100 000 euros.
– Nampa-AFP