Tom Boonen to captain Etixx-Quick-Step at the Giro d’Italia

Etixx-Quick-Step team manager Wilfried Peeters says Tom Boonen could go for stage wins at the Giro d’Italia, with the team lacking a dedicated sprinter for the flat stages.

The Belgian team will be riding for Rigoberto Uran, who enters the Giro looking for his third consecutive podium finish, and Boonen will captain the story on the road in his first ever appearance at the Italian tour.

Boonen, who has been out of competition since separating his shoulder at Paris-Nice, will make his comeback at the Tour of Turkey, starting on Sunday, but Peeters says we should not expect much from the Belgian.

“In Turkey you should not expect immediately stage victories by Tom, because we are also taking Cavendish,” he told Sporza. “He must make sure he is in a good condition for the Giro.

“It’s all good with Tom. He is a competitor. His arm feels good, but his shoulder is still painful after a riding for a few hours. But that’s normal after the operation.

“Tom is our team captain in the Giro. With Uran we have a candidate for the title and Tom is the right man to guide him.

“On the flat [Boonen] can perhaps take a stage win, but he also knows that we will not commit 100 percent team to prepare the sprint for him.”

Etixx announced that Cavendish would skip the Giro d’Italia in favour of riding the Amgen Tour of California, which starts on May 10.