Tuesday 19 December 2017 07:32, UK
Team Sky's Luke Rowe is not putting a timetable on a racing comeback after returning to training only four months after breaking his leg in 20 places.
The Welshman suffered the gruesome injury in an accident jumping into a river while whitewater rafting in August and was even warned by surgeons that he might never be able to race again.
Rowe has defied that outlook, as well as talk he could have to miss the entire 2018 season, by joining his Team Sky colleagues in Mallorca, but he is still not thinking too far ahead.
"So far it's been fairly plain sailing," Rowe said.
"Being out here with all the lads, getting back to it - I love it. I'm obviously not training as hard as them or doing the same hours they are, but doing a bit of what they're doing and being a part of the whole scene here is sweet.
"It makes you feel a bit more like a piece of the puzzle, as opposed to a piece of furniture.
"I never thought I'd be back on a bike this soon. Maybe I feel like a bike rider again, but not a bike racer! I haven't got full strength in my leg yet and I'm pretty unfit to say the least, as expected. My main priority now is training on my bike rather than in the gym.
"If I could get back to where I was before I'd be happy - anything else is just a bonus. It's all about getting back to that level, which seems like a blooming long way away at the moment.
"But things move quickly, and when you get back on the bike and back doing the things you love, it should start to move pretty quick. It's about trying to be consistent day in, day out."
