Androni Giocattoli - C.I.P.I rider Roberto Ferrari is ready to accelerate back up to racing speed again after recovering from the illness which blighted the second half of his season. He’s been off the bike completely for almost four months after being diagnosed with mononucleosis, but doctors believe now that it is safe for him to return to training and then competition.
“I could not wait [to return],” he said. “It 'was tough not being able to race and even do any type of physical activity for all this time. But rest was the only way forward to heal from this disease that I was diagnosed in July.”
Ferrari was motoring early on during the season, winning stages one and three of the Tour de San Luis in Argentina in January, netting second in the GP Costa degli Etruschi and third on a stage of the Giro di Sardegna in February, then riding well in the Settimana Coppi e Bartali in March.
Second and fifth on stages in the Presidential Tour of Turkey set him up for a good Giro d’Italia and he clocked up four top five stage finishes there.
In July, though, he started running into problems. “I raced up to the Tour of Austria. In the first stage, I placed third, but after a few days I had to retire because I was suffering so much,” he said. “The outcome of the tests that I underwent confirmed infectious mononucleosis and therefore the doctors advised that I stop. It was a shame to have to end the season then.”
He’s pleased to be able to knuckle down again, although doctors will monitor him for several months to make sure the issue doesn’t reoccur as the intensity rises. However, all going well, Ferrari is hoping to be ready to compete by the time the Tour de San Luis comes around again in January.