"I have now been able to resume normal life" - Milan Vader

Just over a month after his crash at Itzulia Basque Country, in which he was at risk of loosing his life, Jumbo-Visma's Milan Vader is returning to his normal life and beginning to think about a return to cycling at the highest level.

It will take time, however the motivation is there for the 26-year old. In an interview with De Telegraaf he said: "When I came to after two weeks, my last memory was the time trial on the opening day, but after some thought I was also able to recall some of the other three days before the fall. Maybe it's my brain's way of protecting myself from that memory. I do think that it makes a difference in processing everything, and that it helps with my ambition to start racing again as quickly as is responsible."

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Having fractured a vertebrae, scapula and collarbone, his injuries are slowly healing and allowing him to get back on a static bike. The head injuries he's suffered after falling off a ravine where the most complicated, but with immediate medical assistance the Dutch rider has managed to recover.

He details: "I have now been able to resume normal life. But if you ask me when I'll put on a back number again, I'll have to answer the question myself. The doctor of the team first told me to go for a walk again and sometimes I sit inside on the Tacx cycle trainer. I hope I can race again this year, but we have to wait and see how it develops.”

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He'll be eyeing the hilly classics upon returning, and will be looking forward to racing the Ardennes classics where he was scheduled to be at after Itzulia. "That moment has not yet come and has to wait a little longer. But I am very curious how it will turn out and eager to start cycling again at the highest level," he said.