"At one point I had to take painkillers just to get some sleep" De Kleijn sheds light on recovery from complicated injury

The leaders of Tudor Pro Cycling are currently fighting for glory at the Giro d'Italia, but that's not the case of their star sprinter Arvid De Kleijn. The 31-year-old sprinter had a great run in 2024 and hoped to continue the streak of strong performances this year, however a crash at UAE Tour threw a spanner in those plans.

Almost three months later, De Kleijn is still nowhere near racing again, but positive news are on the horizon. "It was quite a complex fracture and it takes a bit longer than a normal collarbone fracture," the sprinter explains in the podcast Beyond The Kom. "I have been able to cycle on the Tacx in recent weeks. So I have been able to work on my condition a bit, but I have actually been completely inactive for nine weeks."

The injury has taken its toll on De Kleijn not only physically, but also mentally. "I had a lot of pain, during the day but especially at night. That is annoying, because you want to sleep of course. Sleeping also helps you recover, but at one point that was a real problem. That did have an impact. At one point I was on heavy medication to suppress the pain."

"It’s a bit better now, but I can’t say it’s going well. The movement in my shoulder is still zero. I have an operation on Friday and then they will remove the entire construction (meaning the plate in his collarbone, ed.). I hope that I can then move my shoulder normally again and that I can get back on the bike fairly quickly to do my thing."

"They expect that the rehabilitation after this operation will be a lot faster and that I will be able to get back on the bike soon, but that is the question. We first have to see if it has completely recovered. They assume that and I assume that too. I will not be allowed to ride the bike for the first week, but I hope that I can do my thing very quickly afterwards. Of course I am eager to get back on the bike."

De Kleijn could therefore stil race this year. However the Tour de France this summer doesn't seem like a plausible target. "I should definitely be able to make it to the beginning of August. I know that we will be riding a Tour de France in July, but other than that there are not many races. I should be able to be there again in August and I want to be there until the end of the season."