"I will be able to cycle on the road again next week" - Dylan van Baarle on the road to recovery following horrific Paris-Roubaix

A winner at Paris-Roubaix in 2022, Jumbo-Visma's Dylan van Baarle's title defence was cruelly taken out of his hands after a horrific crash that saw him rushed to a French hospital. Now though, his recovery has begun.

"The first week after that was really tough," the 30-year-old revealed on the In Koers podcast. "I couldn't really do anything myself. Showering, drying off, making dinner... I could just walk through the house myself. On Friday I had a new scan made, which came out the same as in the hospital in France."

The Dutchman suffered numerous injuries but as he explains, it could have been a lot worse. “A fracture in the hand, which was quite beneficial. The bone was still on top of each other. There was also a fracture in the shoulder, but that was all good."

'I've been busy on the Tacx. We have to look at cycling outside day by day, for that the bone must first grow together. Only then can my hand handle the vibration of the road, otherwise the recovery will take longer. I'm actually waiting for that at the moment, but with work from the physio we try to keep the shoulder mobile in any case.'" van Baarle continues. "I assume that I will be able to cycle on the road again next week, then you have not really lost much. I haven't been able to cycle for eight days, but I was able to cycle indoors this week. In principle, that training camp should not be a problem."