Dries Devenyns began training today after six days of rest, riding for the first time since he suffered a shoulder fracture during the second to last stage of Paris-Nice.
"Today is the first day I've had a better feeling on my bike," Devenyns said. "I had 5 hours of training, so I am happy with that and am looking forward to the next days. I have 6 hours on the bike in the next days as well. I've only felt better in the last couple of days. If you asked me 4 or 5 days ago I would have been more pessimistic, but now I am having good feelings."
The team will not make a decision on when Devenyns is ready to race until they observe his condition in the next few days.
"April 1st is the Tour of Flanders, and everybody in the town is excited about the race," Devenyns, who lives on the critical passage of Tour of Flanders on the Kwaremont, said. "They've been knocking on my door, checking on me, to see if I am going to make it or not. It really gives me a lot of courage and strength to have the support from friends and family, and the town, but also from the team and medical staff. Whether or not I make it, the support makes a lot of difference. For sure I have pain, it's a shoulder fracture and takes some time to heal. But there is nothing I can do about it, and I feel less pain because of the support I have."
