Following his fall on stage nine of the Giro d’Italia, an accident caused during the sprint into Frosinone when he ran into the bike of Matt Goss, Filippo Pozzato yesterday returned to training and is on the road back to competition.
“In recent days Pippo removed the plaster and since yesterday is on bicycle, doing a few hours of training. His recovery is going according to plans drawn up with [team manager] Luca Scinto,” said Farnese Vini doctor Daniele Tarsi.
Pozzato is returning after what is his second fracture of the season. The Giro crash saw him break the scaphoid bone of his right wrist. He earlier crashed in the Tour of Qatar, fracturing his collarbone, but was able to resume to competition after just nine days.
That quick recovery helped him compete in Milan-Sanremo, where he was sixth, and led on to his fine runner-up slot in the Ronde van Vlaanderen.
It is not yet clear when he will return to racing this time round, but the Italian championships on June 23rd are likely to be a target. He won that race in 2009.
Meanwhile other riders from the team are also recovering from problems suffered in the Giro. Alfredo Balloni and Elia Favilli both face some time off the bike due to injury; Balloni crashed in Assisi and was forced to pull out of the race after stage eighteen. He had previously worn the blue Mediolanum mountains jersey. Favilli also retied due to tendonitis.
“Alfredo will observe ten days of rest, then he will start training with a period of rehabilitation,” said Tarsi. “After that, he will be able to work harder.” Favilli’s recovery will follow a similar pattern. “Elia has a tendinitis caused by efforts. We preferred stop him for a period, he will be back in races at the end of July.”
Meanwhile Giro d’Italia mountains classification winner Matteo Rabottini will return to competition in Saturday’s Trofeo Melinda. He will join up with recent GP Jurmala winner Rafael Andriato, Thomas Bertolini, Roberto De Patre, Francesco Failli, Umberto Nardecchia, Luca Ascani and Diego Caccia.
Rabottini will gradually build up again and aims to be in strong condition for the Italian championships.