Rumours claim that Tom Boonen will end his career this season. But the Belgian rider, who has not won a spring classic since 2012, has made it clear that he will make his own decision about when to stop his career.

"The budget was lower, [Mark] Cavendish left for that reason," Boonen told Het Laatste Nieuws. "And Patrick wanted me to stop after the Spring. That suited him. But not me. The decision to stop is one I’ll take by myself."

The Etixx-Quick Step ride rsuffered a temporal bone fracture at the Abu Dhabi Tour, but despite being left with permanent damage to his hearing, the doctors gave him the green light to resume cycling. "I started training again the very day the doctors said that I could do it, not before. I’m not crazy, or at least, not crazy enough to take risks. I was advised to work on my strength and to be careful with explosive efforts."

Last year, the Belgian missed Spring Classics because of a crash at Paris-Nice. But this weekend, he isback at the start of the his preferred races. "I gained a lot of time by not travelling there. Valencia and Algarve were good preparation. The Opening Weekend in Belgium has never been my principal objective. I’m focused clearly on the Classics, which have always been the most important races for me."

In the Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, he finished 11th in the peloton, nine second behind winner Greg van Avermaet (BMC Racing Team).