Tom Boonen: ‘It breaks my heart my words about Colnago were poorly chosen’
The Belgian took to social media to apologize
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Sirotti
Tom Boonen posted an apology on Instagram to both the Colnago family and company for his comments on a recent podcast. Former professional cyclist Dirk De Wolf and Tom Boonen entered a lengthy discussion about the Italian bike brand on the Wielerclub Wattage podcast, “If Tadej Pogačar gets on a bicycle from Jumbo-Visma, Ineos Grenadiers or Soudal-Quick Step tomorrow, the rest will have no chance,” De Wolf said. “On those bikes, he will pedal another 2 km/h faster.”
Boonen weighed in with some negative comments. “Colnago did indeed have a dip a while ago. It remains a bit of an old-school bike now and they haven’t quite mastered the aero thing yet although they are now catching up,” the former world champion said.
The story quickly made its rounds in the media. Colnago then put out a statement on Thursday. The company invited the Belgian ride and test the V4Rs bikes used by Colnago’s sponsored teams. After the ride, Colnago would host a public conversation about the podcast’s data that allowed them to identify the 2 km/h difference in performances with other brands as reported by the podcast in comparison with the data provided by Colnago. That information, the statement read, has been available since its launch on the Colnago website’s homepage. The visit would ideally take place just before Milano-San Remo on March 18.
Ernesto Colnago himself posted on Instagram. “I don’t think this comment deserves so much a response from me, but rather an apology from someone else.”
Boonen posted an apology on Instagram on Friday.
“When I was a young rider I dreamed about one day winning Paris-Roubaix on a Colnago. It’s a shame I never got a chance to ride one of your bikes. To me Colnago stands for passion and legacy. So it breaks my heart that my words were poorly chosen when I responded to Dirk’s claims in our podcast. Mea culpa, I have nothing but respect for the Colnago family.”
