Team Sky's beleaguered Norwegian veteran Kurt Asle Arvesen seems to be working on borrowed time. Following virtually an entire season lost to knee problems, which included not starting the Tour de France, the Vuelta, or the World Championships, it would seem understood that all would be well going into 2011, but Arvesen's knee ailments have not gone away.
"Generally, I prefer to hike in the mountains, but the damage in my knee makes it impossible. As long as I ride, I do not feel the injury that much. Therefore, I've started riding earlier than in previous years." said Arvesen in a conversation with VG.no.
A November 1st start into training for the 2011 campaign was a record early start for the 35 year old, and it comes as no surprise considering that riding bikes seems to cause him the least pain.
The topic of knee surgery can't be far from anyone's mind when words such as Arvesen's are spoken, but it's something that the multi-time Norwegian champion isn't jumping over barricades to get in line for.
"When I retire, we'll see if I have surgery. It may be the only solution if I still want to hike in the mountains."
Before knee surgery though, Arvesen has his sights set on what could be his final season as a professional.
"Basically, this will be my last season, but one should never say never if the results are good enough. But right now, I see this as the start to my final season."
Following a year that started in the worst possible way, with a broken collarbone at Qatar in January, things never really got off the ground for Arvesen. At the end of the season, Team Sky gave the five-time Norwegian national champion the option to move from the bike to the team car for 2011, but Arvesen declined the new job offer to continue with his current job. He still has one year remaining on a two year deal with Sky.
If all goes well, Arvesen still has a lot to give to his Sky team in 2011 and could turn a lot of heads in his thirteenth season as a professional. After all, it was only two seasons ago that Arvesen celebrated one of his most successful years in his career: Norwegian national champion, victory at the E3 Prijs, a stage win at the Tour de France, 7th at the Ronde van Vlaanderen, and 10th at Milano-Sanremo.