Six weeks after his heavy crash in Abu Dhabi, Tom Boonen’s desire is back. "I want to ride the spring at a level," said Boonen. "I have no more pain, but I do still have a ringing in my ear.”

Tom Boonen suffered a major scar when he crashed hard in the Abu Dhabi Tour in early October. He sustained a skull fracture and was facing a recovery of several months.

"But I have recovered much faster than expected," said  Boonen at a press conference. "In the last two weeksm I have made some good progress.

"Immediately after the crash it was said that I would be out for six months. I knew it was an exaggeration, but it was of course a very big crash with serious consequences.

"It is totally different than a regular shoulder, leg or knee injury. I must have patience.

"But if I have ridden my bike for two days, I'm very tired on the third day. I’m not a cyclist yet.

"Do I still have pain? No, only my left ear is still not fully recovered. I have lost part of my hearing and constantly have a beeping sound in my year. That's very annoying."

But despite those ailments, Boonen is optimistic. "It's still five months until Paris-Roubaix," he said.

"So I have plenty of time to prepare. There are even riders who have not done any workouts yet. It'll be all right.

"First I want to be at an acceptable level at the first training camp in December. Then I want to do a good spring.

"I'm certainly not going to give up hope. On the contrary, I will do the spring to win a classic.

"Whether 2016 will be my last season? That depends on the results. It is indeed the last year of my contract with Etixx-QuickStep.

"But I do not want to do a last year without riding for the wins.

"I enjoy cycling and have a lot of fighting spirit," a combative Boonen concluded.

On Saturday, the sixth edition of the Boonen & Friends charity cyclo-cross will be held.  Marcel Kittel, Andre Greipel, Michael Kwiatkowski, Jurgen Van den Broeck, Bart Wellens, Niels Albert and Ruben Van Gucht will all be at the start.

However, Boonen won’t ride. "I have still not received the green light from the specialists to do a race." But Boonen will attend the event as a spectator.