French sprinter has recovered from Tour of Poland collarbone break; looking to build for Worlds
Romain Feillu (Vacansoleil-DCM) is set to return to racing at the Memorial Rik Van Steenbergen in Aartselaar, Belgium, next Wednesday. The French sprinter crashed in the sprint of the final stage of the Tour of Poland, in the city of Krakov, and, while he managed to cross the line and complete the race, he had fractured his collarbone.
Feillu was operated on by Doctor Claes at the Herentals Clinic, in Belgium, and his recovery has gone to plan, so the 27-year-old is ready to resume his season.
“Within a week of the crash I was already on my bike,” he said. “The last ten day’s I’ve been training almost normally and I’m curious to know how I’ll be able to ride in competition.
“I’ll ride Aartselaar, Paris-Brussels, and [GP] Fourmies, which will let me know how my race form is.”
The French sprinter had been enjoying a good season, with a number of victories that included three stages of the Tour Mediterranean, the Tour du Finistere, a stage and the overall at the Tour de Picardie, and a stage of the Tour of Luxembourg. He finished second in the third stage of the Tour de France, which he followed with two fourth places, a fifth and a sixth; he was forced to quit the race before stage twelve though, but returned for another set of good results in Poland.
He now hopes to finish the season with some more results, as he has achieved in the past, but is not sure how strong he will be.
“Of course I want to perform well in the autumn and to ride for France in the World championships,” he said, “but I’ll first have to see how my form is.
“I’m taking the autumn week-by-week.”
Feillu joined Vacansoleil-DCM at the start of 2010 along with climber, younger brother Brice. Brice failed to fit in with the team and left after just one year of a two-year contract, joining the new Leopard Trek team; it was thought that Romain might follow, but the sprinter signed a new extended deal, through 2013, with the Dutch team earlier this year.