"Unfortunately it became a Grande Nightmare" - Jan Tratnik on the road to recovery after pre-Giro crash

On the eve of the Giro d'Italia, disaster struck for Jan Tratnik as he was involved in a training accident. Now a month later the recovery is in full flow for the Jumbo-Visma rider.

"Extremely excited and couldn’t wait for the Grande Partenza. Unfortunately, it turned out to be a Grande Nightmare for me. I won’t write anymore about what happened, how it looked, because to be honest, I don’t want to remember anymore and I’m trying to put this terrible day behind me," he writes in a blog on his own personal website. "I’m at home now. Surgery done and feeling useful I spend most of my time lying down. I do some knee exercises, some light stretching and that’s it."

Tratnik has now been back on his bike and is on the road to recovery thankfully. "I have three destinations. One is a sofa, the other one is the bed and the third is a slightly adapted seat at the table. Just in case if someone comes to say hi. Otherwise, horizontal position. I shouldn’t put any weight on my legs for at least a few more weeks," he says. "Now I just have to be patient and “enjoy” the days off."

"The first 14 days after the surgery were crucial for me to rest completely. Because of the wound after the surgery, I had to be really careful to prevent any infections. I was useless. After 2 weeks I was given the green light to have the stitches removed," Tratnik continues. "The wound has healed nicely and now the rehabilitation can really begin. The exercises, stretching,… strength exercises will have to wait a little longer because I can’t burden my leg with extra weight. Even if there is no physical training, it is undoubtedly very good mental training."