Cycling-mad Belgians appear more than ready to embrace yet another hero as 24-year-old Tom Boonen claimed victory in the grueling Paris-Roubaix one-day classic on Sunday, his second major win in a week.

It was a race for which Boonen became the favorite after his stunning victory in the Tour of Flanders last Sunday, where he decided not to rely on his formidable sprint powers to put his rivals to the sword.

And after claiming victory in the 259km seventh race of the ProTour series on Sunday, in which his illustrious predecessors Roger De Vlaeminck, Eddy Merckx and Johan Museeuw have shone before him, Boonen would be forgiven for feeling a little overwhelmed with well-wishers this week.

Three years ago, Boonen was a promising 21-year-old riding for George Hincapie's U.S. Postal team when he stunned everyone by finishing third in Paris-Roubaix, probably still the toughest one-day classic on the calendar. That year Museeuw claimed victory for the third time but plenty of attention went to Boonen, who since joining QuickStep has gone from strength to strength on the bike - and managed to stay focused and polite off it.

After last week's win, one of two main objectives this season alongsideParis-Roubaix, the 24-year-old from Antwerp received 5,000 emails, plenty of which, given his handsome looks and charisma, are from female admirers. In a country which produced Merckx, considered the biggest cycling champion in history, and one-day classics kings de Vlaeminck and Museeuw among others, Boonen's rise in the sport could be timed better.

Already he has replaced the now-retired Museeuw as the Belgians' folk hero and at this early stage of his career seems to have the potential to become the biggest one-day classics talent in years.

"He's like a rock star in Belgium," admitted teammate Nick Nuyens. "It's unbelievable." Boonen, however, still manages to live as normal a life as possible. If he didn't, he says, it would not go down well in his native Belgium. "I like to go out to the local cafe at least once a week,” said the man who on Sunday became the 51st Belgian to win Paris-Roubaix. “It helps keep your feet on the ground, and nobody bothers me. Everyone knows me so it's not a problem. It's once I leave my local town that I start to get mobbed."

Having won at a relatively young age, Boonen seems capable of overhauling the Paris-Roubaix record-holder, de Vlaeminck, who is alone in winning the race four times.

Museeuw, like Merckx, won Paris-Roubaix three times. However the recently retired "Lion of Flanders" arguably has a less impressive record.

Merckx and de Vlaeminck won 36 one-day classics between them, but Merckx tops them all. Seven victories in Milan-San Remo, five in Liège-Bastogne-Liège and two in the Tour of Flanders easily earned the Belgian legend his "Cannibal" nickname.

Boonen, meanwhile, has plenty of road to ride down. Nonetheless, he admits he has no intention of riding to the ripe old age of 38 – as some of the one-day classics riders do - in a bid to set records. "Trying to win the race every year for 14 years, I don't think so. I don't think I'll even be riding in 14 years time," Boonen told AFP. "Guys like Museeuw and (Andrea) Tafi won the race at a later age than I did, but I don't think it's possible to keep this level for another 14 years. Right now my plan is to ride for another five or six years then take it from there. But I don't think I'll be racing when I'm 37."UCI ProTour standings after 7 events
1. Tom Boonen (B), 112 points
2. Alessandro Petacchi (I), 93
3. Oscar Freire (Sp), 78
4. George Hincapie (USA), 75
5. Danilo Hondo (G), 70
6. Juan Antonio Flecha (Sp), 65
7. Thor Hushovd (N), 55
8. Bobby Julich (USA), 50
9. Andreas Klier (G), 41
. Alejandro Valverde (Sp), 41
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