"I really want to be at the start of the Vuelta" - Jan Tratnik hopeful of returning in time to help Jumbo-Visma complete historic hat-trick

Jan Tratnik should have been part of Primoz Roglic's Giro d'Italia win. Sadly for the experienced Slovenian though, he was knocked off his bike on the eve of the race. Finally nearing a return, Tratnik is hopefully of making the Vuelta a Espana selection.

"Until June 7th, I was killing time on the rollers. But finally, the day came when I could hit the road again. It felt like a breath of fresh air, literally!" Tratnik updates on his recovery through a blog on his website. "It only took me a month to go from drowning in a sweat on the rollers to enjoying the open air on my bike. I immediately got extra motivation and that week I trained twice a day, sometimes even three times. I mainly used the rollers to warm up, then hit the road for one or two hours."

The time of the bike has nothing to dampen Tratnik's spirit. In fact, it may have made him hungrier to get back to winning ways. "Alongside my rides, I also had strength training and physiotherapy three times a week. It kind of took me two-thirds of June to get used to riding with a knee that wasn’t quite 100%, but seeing that every day was a huge improvement, I woke up every morning hungry for more progress," he says. "Sure, there were days when my knee would swell up a bit and I’d feel some pain, but with rest, ice, and the amazing regenerative powers of the body, I was ready to train again the next day."

"As for my race program, I still don’t know 100% where I will be competing, but I really want to be at the start of the Vuelta," concludes Tratnik, who would join both Primoz Roglic and Jonas Vingegaard if he does gain selection. "There is still some time before then and I believe that I will be ready. I’m really missing the races right now. It’s been way too long since I last pinned on my race number."