"I don't really care where I race. I just want to race" - After lengthy time off the bike, Zdenek Stybar hungry for racing

Zdenek Stybar has been for a long time pushed back because of a long-term injury but with the possibility of having taken care of it over the past few months, he's keen to resume racing at a high level and prove his worth at Team Jayco AlUla.

“Because of the compression in the femoral artery, it was impossible to perform. As soon as we had to ride up a climb somewhere, I couldn't do anything. No more strength in the legs. I couldn't bear it any longer," Stybar told Wielerflits. “I thought it might be age. That your body won't let you suffer anymore or something. I was full of questions and doubts. I have had all my training sessions of the last few years analyzed. To see if we could learn something from that, because the way I rode around then, it was no longer necessary for me. I would rather stop, but of course I didn't want to do it that way."

Stybar endured difficult years over the 2020's, a femoral artery compression frequently halted his performances, both in training and racing. This led to inconsistency, eventually he did not renew with Soudal - Quick-Step but was given a shot to continue at World Tour this season with Team Jayco AlUla. He didn't perform throughout the spring however with the Australian team.

However after more analysis with a doctor he was told to take time off from the bike to improve the situation in his artery, which could ultimately fix the health issue. "For the first time in my life I was not allowed to exercise for four weeks. I was only allowed to resume training after twelve weeks. That's actually now. The recovery went much better than the doctors had expected," he positively adds.

Stybar resumed training in mid-July and has returned to racing - after Amstel Gold Race - this week at the Arctic Race of Norway. His form is still modest, but he's been part of the action over the hilly days, and he looks to quickly build form in order to still be able to chase results in the end of the season. “I have asked the team management to put me in as many races as possible. These will mainly be some one-day rates in Belgium. I don't really care where I race. I just want to race."

The 37-year old is in contract year and it will not be easy to secure his future at the high level. He's motivated to do so and still has around month and a half of racing left to put his cards on the table. "I have not been able to race, so I have not been able to show anything yet. It will become clear in the coming weeks. I'm not about to stop. If it's up to me, I'll keep racing for a while. Enough has gone wrong in the past three years to not be nervous about an expiring contract," he concluded.