New contract is close but nothing signed yet, insists Tom Boonen

Tom Boonen says his new contract with Etixx-Quick-Step is still being drawn up and insists he's not worried about the situation.

The Belgian bolstered his hopes of extending with his current team by winning stage four of the Eneco Tour on Wednesday, rolling back the years by winning a bunch sprint in Ardooie.

"This morning I was reading in a newspaper that I would sign today," he told Het Nieuwsblad before the stage. "Well, I have no appointment with Patrick Lefevere, so I does not expect that I will put my signature under an extension of my contract today. Actually the contract is still drafting stages, I think."

Boonen outsprinted the likes of Andre Greipel, Elia Viviani and Arnaud Demare in the sprint finish in Ardooie to claim his third win of the season. The four-time Paris-Roubaix winner missed the whole Classics season after separating his shoulder in a crash at Paris-Nice.

"Winning is everything, this is why I still do this," Boonen said. "The past week I've worked hard in the sprint, to try and win a stage here. You can tell I'm really happy with this win after three consecutive bunch arrivals.

"Three times really is a charm! The past two days were okay, but always a little too early. Today actually didn't go perfectly either in the last kilometer. Demare and I touched wheels, but I remained upright. I stuck with it, launched in the last meters and won the stage."

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