Having been forced to withdraw from the Tour de France due to the injuries that he suffered in the big crash on July 6th, Robert Gesink has said that his condition is improving and that he is certain to line out on the Olympic road race next weekend.
“I missed the ending of the Tour de France, but I had good reason for that,” he said in his column in Telesport. “The past three days I've been in Girona, training well again. In total I spent seventeen hours on the bike. You can say I am relieved that things are improving, and especially with my ribs.
“They are not one hundred percent recovered; sleep is still not great, but with each day the pain is less. That makes me really happy at this moment.”
Gesink was one of many riders who came down in the huge crash on stage six of the race. He suffered heavy bruising to his ribs and the intercostal muscles which surround them, hampering his breathing. It meant he was unable to perform in the Tour and he was a non-starter on stage twelve.
The withdrawal was his latest episode of bad luck in the race. He crashed out very early on during his 2009 debut and was only 33rd last year due to crashes. He has been able to show what he can do on one occasion alone; he was fifth in 2010 at just 24 years of age.
The Rabobank rider has identified the Vuelta as a new big goal, with the mountains route potentially suiting him very well. Before then, though, the 2012 Tour of California winner will have another target.
“There are no doubts about my participation in the Olympic road race Saturday in London,” he stated. “I expect to have a good level. If the pain is completely gone, I think I may be going just as well as in the first week of the Tour de France.”