[MUSIC PLAYING]
TOM BOONEN: When the period of the classics comes,
I fall in this state of focus.
Everything has to be planned in my head
just until the minute before the start.
Even my bag, the way I pack it, the things
I take in my bag to go to the start of the race,
I don't have anything with me that I won't wear.
Just those socks, those shoe covers, leg warmers, everything
is one pair.
I want peace in my mind.
The things that I can control, the things that I can plan,
those have to be perfectly in order.
And then when I take the start, OK, then it's
up to me and my condition and I need a little bit of good luck.
We have twins.
And their names are Valentine and Jacqueline.
I'm not home that often and I like to be home more
but it's the way my life is for the moment.
So when I get home they're always really happy to see me.
And then of course you spoil them a little bit more.
If I look back at my career it's 15 years now as a pro
but if you think about it, it's like that and it's over.
It flies by so fast.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
I only have a very few limited goals left.
The base one is making Paris-Roubaix
for the fifth time.
That's the only reason I'm still racing.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
I really love Paris-Roubaix.
It's a race that I've learned to enjoy when I was still amateur.
The first I did it I finished six straight away.
I was only 18 years old.
It meant so much for me to experience that
and to realize that maybe I will be good at something
in bike riding.
I can go over stones pretty fast.
So it started all over there.
Paris-Roubaix is a race that demands all preparation.
The better you are prepared and the calmer you
can be in the race, the smoother everything
goes and the less worries you have the better
your performance will be.
It takes those 365 days to get ready.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
Everybody's always talking about the cobblestone.
The speed you go through the cobblestones
that's always like a sprint.
Cobblestones have the effect of glue.
It's trying to slow you down.
You need energy to get over it.
The easier it is for you to keep your speed up,
the easier it is in the end.
The spring classics are different now for me.
I'm already happy with the way I perform at those races.
I just want to perform well in them one more time
and I still ride because I like it.
It's takes my pressure now.
It's something I put on myself.
It's not from the rest of the world that puts pressure on me.
The hardest part of being a cyclist is hospitals.
Injuries, recovery, getting back after a crash
every time again, that's the hardest part.
2015 was the year that I've been struggling
a bit in the beginning of the season with my shoulder injury.
And then broke my skull for the first time and hopefully
the last time.
Sometimes it's only a few races.
Sometimes it will take you a month or two.
But it always takes time before you really
can give yourself back 100% and take
the risks you've taken before.
Winning a fifth Roubaix is something
that lives its own life a little bit.
Winning a fifth would probably put it
even a bigger perspective.
I like that race so much and I know that in normal conditions
I will always be a final and be able to defend myself.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
I love the cobbles because it's honest.
Just me and the bike.