After finishing second in the bunch sprint of the Vuelta’s 12th stage, Tom Boonen is now looking to lead the Belgian team at the World Championships.

He finished second to form man John Degenkolb, another likely contender for the Rainbow Jersey, and registered his first Grand Tour sprint placing for years.

“I felt strong," Boonen told Nieuwsblad.be. “If I had been a bit faster, I could have won, I think. But Degenkolb was technically perfect and strong.”

Second place is still not winning, “so I cannot be happy.” It had its good side, though. “It’s fun to see that I can still get really involved in the sprint.” Boonen has good memories of World Championships in Spain, having won in Madrid in 2005. This year’s course is not one for pure sprinters, but for sprinters who can climb – like Boonen and Degenkolb.

National coach Carlo Bomans sees Boonen’s performance as good, but in a guarded way.

“Let's not exaggerate," Bomans said. "A World Championship of 250km is something other than a stage of 160 flat kilometers. But I am happy with what I've seen, especially the way Boonen chose his position. That's different from the last few weeks.” “Plus: it's not that Degenkolb pulled several meters away. But above all it will give him confidence. That is always good.”

Boonen has not had much success in 2014. He was much more successful than in 2013 as he has registered wins in Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne as well as a brace of stage wins Tour of Qatar and Tour of Belgium.