I feel like I am in déjà vu. Hoogerland crashed in the 2011 Tour de France, and I kept track of his progress. The when Soler crashed in 2012, I kept track of his progress as well. Now here I am on Hoogerland again. The good news is though, Johnny Hoogerland is back to training indoors!
Hoogerland trains on a bike for first time following accident
Johnny Hoogerland (Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team) is making steady progress in his recovery after being seriously injured during a training ride accident on February 3.
The 29-year-old Dutchman posted a picture today on Twitter of his bike mounted on an indoor trainer with the statement, "Here we go, 3 weeks later." Hoogerland later revealed via Twitter that he was able to train for just over an hour and covered 30.18km, his first ride since his accident.
Hoogerland sustained serious injuries three weeks ago when he was hit by a car while out on a training ride in Spain. The Dutchman broke five ribs, sustained fractures to his spine and bruised his liver. After spending time in intensive care at a hospital in Spain, Hoogerland returned home to the Netherlands where his rehabilitation is underway.
Hoogerland expects to resume racing in May. He has only competed once thus far in the 2013 season at the Grand Prix Cycliste la Marseillaise on January 27, the first race contested in European soil this year.
Next up is some bad new for Radioshack Leopard Trek. Just like Garmin a month ago, the RSLT bikes got stolen overnight. However, unlike Garmin, the RSLT riders were able to get spare Trek bikes and were able to take the start today at West Flanders.
RadioShack bikes stolen at West Flanders
Thieves have struck the peloton again, and RadioShack-Leopard is the latest victim. One of its trucks was robbed during the night, leaving the team scrambling for bikes before Saturday's second stage of the Three Days of West Flanders.
Update: The riders were able to take to the start, as the team tweeted, "Stage 2 of
“Bad news from our team in Driedaagse van West-Vlaanderen: overnight 8 bikes, a bunch of wheels and a tool box got stolen from the truck. We're doing all we can now to get the guys on spare Trek bikes at the start of stage 2!” the team posted on Facebook, Saturday morning.
Only last month thieves cleaned out a Garmin-Sharp truck at the Tour du Mediterraneen, taking 17 bikes before the queen stage of that race. Other teams offered to supply substitute bikes, but the riders did not want to take on the mountains on unfamiliar bikes, and the team abandoned the race.
And the best news of the week, came a few days ago. Andy Schleck finished his first race since April of last year! Hopefully this means he is on the way back to his old self, however, I am still kind of fearful since this was only a one-day race that he finished.
Andy Schleck started the GP Camaiore race in Tuscany on Thursday, with his Radioshack Leopard team hoping he can finish his first race for almost year.
Schleck came to Tuscany after training in Mallorca for ten days, hoping to finally put his problems behind him. He quit the Tour Méditerranéen on stage one citing illness and has now not finished a race since the 2012 Liège-Bastogne-Liège.
His negative spiral of results and problems began last June when he fractured his pelvis during the time trial stage of the Critérium du Dauphiné in early June. Schleck missed the Tour de France and his comeback was delayed several times, with his bother's doping case also creating problems and difficulties within the Radioshack-Leopard team.
A recent report in L'Équipe compared Schleck to Jan Ullrich, questioning Schleck's self-discipline and lack of motivation to that of the former German rider.
Schleck's poor performances have been ridiculed by many people, especially on social media. However, it seems Schleck's problems are more complicated than just a lack of fitness and motivation.
New Radioshack-Leopard team manager Luca Guercilena has hit back at the criticism, confirming that the team is trying to help Andy get his season and career back on track.
"I think it's sad that whenever a rider goes through a difficult moment in life, a lot of people in cycling forget all the good things they have achieved," Guercilena said.
"Andy is human just like anyone else and so can have difficult moments in life. We're trying to help him and help him get back to his best. We're ready to accept any criticism of what we do but to target Andy and try to undermine him psychologically is unfair."
Schleck seemed keen to race when he stepped off the Radioshack bus before the start of the GP Camaiore. The team had informed Cyclingnews that Schleck would not talk to the media but he was willing to explain how he is feeling.
"In training some good sensations are coming back. I'm feeling good, so we'll see what happens," he said.
"The race route makes me worried, it’s tough, but the objective is to finish. I've got an important week coming and so this is an important race."
Schleck avoided making eye contact when talking. He admitted that the criticism had hurt him but showed signs of wanting to prove he is on his way back.
"I know what I have to do. People talk about you if you go good and talk if you good bad. It's not motivating but I need to be good in races for my own confidence," he said.
"I know that people care about me but they haven't been through what I've been through last year: a long time without racing. I have people on my side and they're supporting me really well. I've got a lot of support from the team and everyone. I'd like to show everybody that I'm still here."
Guercilena described Andy Schleck's problem as a 'momento buio’ – a dark moment – that has affected him more psychologically than physically.
"Physically he's pretty good. He trained intensively for ten days in Mallorca under the guidance of Kim Andersen. The goal today is to finish the race," he told Cyclingnews.
"His problems were caused by a series of factors from last year: his injury first of all and then the way his problem was managed. Then there's the family aspect: Frank's suspension, that caused psychological problems. And the psychology of a rider is always very important. Even if a rider has a decent level of fitness, psychological problems can cause bigger problems."
Guercilena confirmed that Schleck is set to ride Strade Bianche on Saturday and then stay in Italy to ride Tirreno-Adriatico, which starts next Wednesday.
"That's the plan at the moment, as long as there are no last minute problems," Guercilena said.
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