He’d otherwise be one of Sky Procycling’s protected riders in the Tour de France, but there’s now a chance that Michael Rogers could end up missing this year’s race due to a reoccurrence of the glandular fever which has already affected his career.
The triple world time trial champion first came down with the virus in the aftermath of his bad crash in the 2007 Tour de France. He recovered in late 2009 and last season had a standout season, winning the Vuelta a Andalucia and the Amgen Tour of California. However the virus returned and, aside from twelfth in Paris-Nice, he has had a very quiet season. He withdrew from the Bayern Rundfahrt on Wednesday as a result.
''I'm still not 100 per cent unfortunately … not even 60 per cent. I'm still struggling with the bloody virus [of] a couple of years back,” he told The Sunday Age.
''When I get run down it comes back. It's still there in the can, but doesn't seem to get better. It's just basically glandular fever. It's bloody frustrating.
''I just had the best year of my career last year [winning the Ruta del Sol and Tour of California stage races] and was looking to build on this year. It leaves a bit of a sour taste in my mouth, but there's not a lot I can do. There is no medication. I just have to wait it out.”
Rest is normally prescribed to get over the virus, but Rogers hopes to compete in the Tour of Luxembourg next week. He said that at this point in time, he is not as badly affected as before, and that he hopes to bounce back. However nothing is certain, particularly with the virus concerned.
“I am still confident I can come back and salvage the year in some shape and form,” he said. “I have done it before and I still have experience and a lot of people who still believe in me.''
Rogers moved to Sky Procycling over the winter after several seasons with the HTC Highroad setup. The British team had hoped that he would share leadership with riders like Bradley Wiggins, who last year had a lot of pressure on his shoulders.
Wants Olympic medal:
Following Tyler Hamilton’s admission that he had used banned substances during his career, the American handed back the gold medal he won in the 2004 Olympic Games. Rogers finished fourth in that contest, and said that he wants to be moved up to the medal slot.
"'It is going back a long time, but I feel I am eligible for it after Tyler's declaration. I would certainly like it. I know it was a long time ago but for me it means a lot,” he said.
Viatcheslav Ekimov and Bobby Julich were second and third in Athens, and are pushing to get the gold and silver medals from the IOC.