The two stars returning to form by the Tour of Flanders – or earlier – could make all the difference in whether the Cobbled Classics are snoozers or edge-of-the-seat editions.
Kristof Ramon
Just days after suffering a broken collarbone and wrist in a crash on the opening stage of the Volta Comunitat Valenciana, Lidl-Trek star Mads Pedersen is turning pedals again. He’s inside, on a trainer, but he’s riding. “Reminder: enjoy the small steps forward” was the caption he put on an Instagram story from Wednesday that showed him riding with a heavily wrapped wrist.
Small step or no, it bodes well for a possible return for the heart of the Cobbled Classics season, his major target. Similarly, Wout van Aert’s recovery from a broken ankle suffered on January 2 is ahead of schedule. And that matters for reasons beyond their own hopes for a long-sought cobble Monument win.
Of the two, Pedersen’s injuries are “easiest” to recover from in the sense that they’re both upper-body injuries that don’t prevent an early return to indoor training. That’s balanced against the fact that wrist injuries in particular are sometimes slow to heal. Bones in that part of the body are typically not well-vascularized, and certain fractures – such as a navicular bone – can produce severe pain well after the initial break, especially in response to sharp hits or vibration. You know, the kind of thing you find in repeated ascents of the Oude Kwaremont and Paterberg at the Tour of Flanders, or crossing the Arenberg Forest in Paris-Roubaix.
Van Aert, meanwhile, is with Visma-Lease a Bike teammates at a training camp in the Sierra Nevada. Yesterday, he logged a 119-mile (191 km) training ride with over 12,000 feet (3,600 m) of climbing. Seems things are going well for a guy who was on crutches barely a month ago.
All that bodes well for the rapidly approaching Cobbled Classics, which kick off February 28 with Omloop Nieuwsblad. While it’s likely neither will be at full strength for the Opening Weekend (Pedersen may not race; his first planned start looks like Milan-San Remo, March 21), there’s an increasingly strong chance both will be much closer to top form for the all-important early April brace of Monuments.
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