"It's going faster than I expected": Tiesj Benoot makes big steps on his path to recovery

Tiesj Benoot will be one of the main absentees of this year's Classics season. While others are either competing at Paris-Nice, Tirreno-Adriatico, or giving their preparations some final touches, the Belgian is forced to watch action from sidelines. The 31-year-old's preparation was disrupted by a back pain this winter which ended up requiring a surgery to treat a lumbar disc herniation. As a consequence, Benoot won't see action this spring.

Even though a competitive return is not in sights, Benoot remains high spirit as his recovery gradually progresses: "It's going well now. If I compare today to a week ago, I've made progress," he said in the HLN cycling podcast.

While he's not yet able to ride his bicycle after the surgery, there's already a clear improvement in regular activities.

"I already have more confidence in the things I do, including in everyday life. It's going faster than I expected. I hope to be back on the rollers soon. I'd love to be racing again by summer. The sooner the better, of course, but I also don't want to skip any steps."

Originally, Benoot would've been a co-leader and mentor alongside Paul Seixas at Strade Bianche, but the Belgian's absence meant that the Frenchman had to make a do alone. And he certainly held his own against the biggest stars of professional peloton including Tadej Pogacar and Isaac del Toro as the 19-year-old ended up losing only to the Slovenian phenomenon in his Strade debut

"That he finished second in Strade Bianche is incredibly impressive. I've only done one training camp with him. He's a typical young guy to be around, but I don't see him as a typical young rider. He's not fixated on wattage and nutrition. He's not the guy who constantly watches his training. I think he still has a lot of room for improvement," the new Decathlon CMA CGM rider concludes.