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Boonen pulls out of Tour de France
 Boonen failed to finish last year's Tour because of a knee injury. L'ALPE D'HUEZ, France -- World champion Tom Boonen of Belgium pulled out of the Tour de France during the race's first Alpine stage at L'Alpe d'Huez. He was suffering from breathing problems. The 25-year-old Quick Step rider was left trailing early on in the 187km stage, which featured three big climbs. Boonen, who was second in the standings for the best sprinter's green jersey, failed to win a stage but wore the overall leader's yellow jersey for three days. He got off his bike on the second of the day's climbs, the Col du Lautaret. He had completed the first grueling Alpine climb of stage 15, the Col d'Izoard, but abandoned ahead of the L'Alpe d'Huez, which features 21 bends. "Tom does not understand what happened to him," Quick Step team spokesman Alessandro Tegner said. "He passed the Col de l'Izoard with the favorites and suddenly, on the descent, he had trouble breathing." "He could not control it. He lowered his pace and when he was trying to step up a gear, it was worse. He was powerless, he could not go on." The Belgian cyclist failed to finish the Tour last year, although his withdrawal on that occasion, his debut, was because of a knee injury. He became world champion in Madrid last year and in September narrowly failed to become the only rider to win both the Ronde of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix in consecutive years. 
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