Tom Gloag will return to racing almost full year after his training accident at the Czech Tour on Thursday

Tom Gloag will make his comeback at the Czech Tour after almost a year of absence. The 22-year-old British climbing talent will start the Czech 2.1 race on Thursday. Normally, it'd be a race where he'd attempt to finish at the very least on the final podium, however this year, his goals are much more modest.

"Tom is indeed riding his first race in the Czech Republic after a long rehabilitation," the team said when asked by WielerFlits. "The main intention is to get him back into competition rhythm, we really can't expect any results from him yet. But it is great for both him and the team that he can pin on a race number again after a pretty difficult time."

The talented Briton has been racing for Visma | Lease a Bike since 2023. In his first professional year, he immediately received a golden opportunity to show what he's made of when got called up for Giro d'Italia as the last substitute in line, following a series of illness of injuries that struck the Dutch formation ahead of the Corsa Rosa.

In Italy, he certainly didn't disappoint. After all, Visma won the race with Primoz Roglic, which was only the first chapter in the team's triple later in 2023. However Gloag's story didn't continue as happily. After taking the much needed rest, he briefly returned to action at Clásica San Sebastian before he got hit by a car during training in August, putting him out of competition for nearly a year with knee injury.