"Lets hope that luck is on our side" - Tim Wellens sets sights on Tour de France as UAE Team Emirates - XRG navigate injuries

Tadej Pogacar and UAE Team Emirates - XRG endured a host of injury blows this season, with key riders and planned teams for big races repeatedly disrupted. But with two Giro d'Italia stage wins and some of Pogacar's key lieutenants in Tim Wellens back racing, things are certainly looking up for the team.

UAE Team Emirates - XRG lost Adam Yates, Marc Soler and Jay Vine just last weekend to injury at the Giro but crucially saw their classics campaign disrupted by injuries to the likes of Jhonatan Narváez, Isaac Del Toro and Jan Christen - weakening their support of Pogacar in important races.

Wellens crashed hard at Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne and was sidelined for six weeks with a broken collarbone. The Belgian champion's results in the Ardennes and Eschborn-Frankfurt since returning don't look good on paper, but Wellens insists he's on course.

"The clavicle is completely healed," Wellens told Bici.PRO. "The return races were a bit complicated, but each time it went better and better. In the Ardennes I did good job helping the team and also in Frankfurt it went very well, so for now I can't complain."

"I knew I couldn't ride on the cobblestones, because it's very difficult and painful. I accepted that a broken collarbone would have meant missing many races. Obviously I would have preferred to race, but if it's not possible, it's not possible."

Requiring surgery, Wellens praised his team's patience to allow for him to rehabilitate and manage his recovery from injury.

He added: "When I crashed, the team doctor had a different opinion than the doctor who operated on me, and in the end he gave me more time. It's a luxury not to have the pressure of leaving too soon. I was able to train after the wound healed, while in some teams this patience isn't there."

With crashes prevalent in this year's bunch and teams testing increased safety features such as airbags in their kit, Wellens is acutely aware of the differences between helmets and the different considerations to be made. His team use MET helmets, something he's thankful about.

He continued: "The incredible thing is that when I was little, 12 years old, I used the same brand of helmet I use now. Not because it was the fastest, the lightest, or whatever. As a kid, I chose a helmet because it was the coolest; I didn't care about performance."

"Today the considerations are different and rightly so. Asking a professional cyclist what they look for in a helmet is complicated because we really have no choice. If you buy a helmet and don't like it, you can exchange it: I'm lucky enough to use something I've always felt comfortable with."

The 35-year-old will be a key man for Pogacar in his quest for three Tour de France titles in a row. After recovering from a flu, Wellens will go to altitude and join his teammates in training and continue his preparations.

"It will be a high-altitude retreat that will cement the group," says Wellens. "We train together, live together, laugh and suffer together, and every day we notice improvements. Everyone who takes part works to reach their best self. And let's hope that luck is on our side."