"Winning a Tour stage is something I really want to achieve in my career" - Bouhanni coming back to racing after 2022 disaster

Nacer Bouhanni has had many crashes throughout his career, however 2022 was another year devastated by one. In 2023 he is looking to return to the peloton and the Tour de France, with high ambitions.

“We were riding about 55 km/h when it happened, so I couldn't react," Bouhanni has said recently. The Frenchman crashed in the second stage of the Tour of Turkey back in April when pedestrians have gotten themselves in the way of the peloton caused a mass crash. "I just have the image in front of me, which keeps coming back, where I see two people on the road in front of me. It's really a nightmare."

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Bouhanni had previously crashed in a training ride and suffered a concussion earlier in January. His crash in April left him out of the bike for over three months however. "I haven't been able to cycle for more than three months, but now I can train again," he told L'Équipe. 

"I was already able to train at the end of the season with a view to next year, in the hope of returning to my old level," he continued. Bouhanni is moving back into the World Tour as Arkéa Samsic have scored enough points over the past three seasons to place themselves in a great position.

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Bouhanni has watched the Tour de France presentation, and like many others, he's expressed content and ambition regarding the Grand Boucle. “I count five or six chances for the sprinters. I hope to be up and racing by then. Winning a Tour stage is something I really want to achieve in my career," he concluded.