BMC Racing Team rider Marco Pinotti has confirmed he is making steady progress in his recovery from the crash which cost him a shot at a world time trial championship medal. The Italian was on course for a potential third place in the race on September 19th, but fell on a corner after the second time gap, breaking his collarbone.
It was initially believed that he would need an operation but this proved not to be the case. Now, just over three weeks later, he has taken off his bandages, no longer needs a sling, and has been reassured that everything is in place.
“Normally the way it is now, it should heal by itself,” he told VeloNation this week. “The process lasts 40 days, about six weeks. I will do another x-ray at the end of the month, which will be six weeks after the crash. There’s no point in getting one done now as it’s probably too soon to see anything on the x-ray…the bone is still coming together.”
Pinotti confirmed that he has rested since the crash, taking care of himself rather than trying to do anything in terms of exercise. He said that he could perhaps try to go on the indoor trainer this week, but preferred to be patient. “I want to wait a bit more to be sure it’s fine. I don’t need to race in the near future, so it’s not necessary to hurry.
“We have a team meeting at the end of next week, on October 21st. If I get the green light from the team doctor, I will go on the road then, or perhaps wait until October 30th, when I have the x-ray check. I’ll be back on the road then, preparing for next season.”
The injury is frustrating, but Pinotti is in a better place than last year. Twelve months ago he was still rebuilding strength after fracturing his pelvis in the Giro d’Italia, and had to work hard over the winter to regain the lost muscle.
Stronger against the clock:
Despite that disruption, he had a very strong season, with TT results such as sixth on stage two of Critérium International, fourth on stage six of the Vuleta al Pais Vasco, eight on stage one of the Giro d’Italia, victory on the final stage, third in the Italian national championship, first on stage seven of the Tour of Austria and fifth in the Olympic Games.
“I think that I had maybe my best results this season, especially in time trialing,” he confirmed. “There hasn’t been a time trial when I was not in the top ten, regardless of the course. I really improved in the time trial. I think it is down to the fact this year that I spent a lot a lot of time on the TT bike.
“Before the worlds, I checked the total and I had done 4800 kilometres on the time trial bike. We do 30 thousand kilometres a year, so it is about fifteen percent of that time. It is a lot. You need to do it constantly, and I have been doing it once or twice or week. I think that is one of the reasons why I improved.”
The Olympic result was one of the best of his entire career and convinced him that he could potentially medal at the worlds. Indeed that goal looked to be on course until he crashed nearing the end of the race.
“I made a mistake in the corner. I was unlucky to break the collarbone – you can crash but don’t always break a bone,” he said, before adding with a laugh. “But we don’t have a time machine to go back.
“It took me a while to get over the disappointment, but after four or five days I decided, okay, look forward, learn from it, then forget about it. It is only when people bring it up after three weeks, I say ‘sorry, I don’t want to talk about it any more.’”
With a return to the bike in sight, Pinotti is keen to get back training and then to resume racing next season. He’ll be with the BMC Racing Team once again and has already worked out when he wants to begin.
“Next year the team will do the Tour Down Under and Tour de San Luis early on. I was talking with Lelangue at the world championship and because I was due to do the Tour of Beijing and the Grand Prix des Nations, ending the season late, I spoke to him about starting in February, in Oman.
“Even though I didn’t race as long as I though, I’d still like to stick with this plan. Oman is a good way to start, and is good training. There is no reason for me to do Argentina, but we’ll talk further in the team meeting.”
One of the reasons a slightly later start is of interest is because he has a very big goal at the end of the season, and wants to be in his best shape possible then. After crashing out of the worlds, making up for that missed medal is a very, very big focus. So too winning the team time trial title with BMC Racing Team.
“Florence will be a big target,” he said with conviction. “I want to get the selection, go to the worlds in good shape, and get back what I lost this year.”