In the Tour de France, Boonen won the second and third stages, taking the lead in the points classification. He retired after stage 11 due to injuries sustained in crashes. On 25 September Boonen became the 21st Belgian road world champion. He won the race in Madrid, after the leading six riders were caught. He outsprinted Alejandro Valverde to become the first Belgian since Museeuw, in 1996, to wear the rainbow jersey. He came second in the 2005 UCI ProTour rankings.