Tom Boonen has had two entirely different seasons, with 2012 being one of his best and 2013 being a complete disaster. The Belgian is eager to start the year strongly to prove that he is still a force to be reckoned with and he doesn't fear that he is no longer able to win the biggest classics.

When the 2012 season ended, Tom Boonen was on top of the world. With an unprecedented amount of success in the cobbled classics  - he won E3, Gent-Wevelgem, the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix in two magical weeks - and a Belgian road race title and a win in Paris-Bruxelles, Boonen had had his best since that magical 2005 season when he won the biggest cobbled classics and the World Championships.

2013 could not have been more different as Boonen hardly did any racing. Already from the very beginning, things went wrong as he had to cancel his participation in a team building camp due to a stomach infection and he later had to postpone his racing debut to the Tour of Oman when a bacterial infection made him fear that he would lose one of his arms.

He tried to reach some kind of form for the cobbled classics but crashed out of the Tour of Flanders and had to miss Paris-Roubaix. He came back in the summer season to win a stage in the Tour de Wallonie but a cyst forced him to call it a season after than race.

While his fellow riders were busy finishing their season, Boonen was working hard in the gym to come back stronger than ever before for the 2014 season. In October, he started to do some specific bike work and he is now ready to start the season with all guns blazing.

Boonen has always been known for his strong season starts and it is no coincidence that he won 20 stages and 4 overall titles in the Tour of Qatar. With a good off-season now in his pocket, he is ready to show that he is back to his best right from the beginning of the season.

"I always like to start strong, put a stamp on the start of the season and show everyone that I'm back," he told Cyclingnews. "Not only for the rest of the world but also for me and the rest of the team as well. If I start strong I always have a good season. That's my objective, to have a really good season and then try and have a victory every month."

Boonen will start his season in the Tour de San Luis where he is likely to support Mark Cavendish. He will then continue his racing in the Middle East where he hopes to build on past success before lining up in the Belgian opening weekend with the Omloop Het Nieuwsbland and Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne.

Despite a year to forget, Boonen doesn't fear that he cannot compete with the best in the biggest classics.

"I'm not worried about anyone if I'm 100 percent fit and I have a good mind," he said. "The better you're riding the easier it is to stay motivated. In 2012 I felt like I'd never been stronger but I was still evolving. I was using my energy better and now I think I'm on the same level. I think I just need competition and few victories."

With 4 wins in Roubaix and 3 victories in Flanders, Boonen is already a shared record holder in both events. His main goal in 2014 will be to write his name even further into the history books in the biggest cobbled races.

"When I started my career I wasn't even sure I'd even win a bike race as a professional," he said. "You don't think about competing for records in Roubaix or Flanders but right now the record is there. I've won them three times and four times. It's not like I can be more motivated because I'll go for them at 100 percent and they're my big goals."

Boonen will start his season on January 20 in the Tour de San Luis.