Wegelius states initial priority is to ease him back into competition
After making his comeback to racing in yesterday’s Brabantse Pijl, Alex Rasmussen has a two week wait before he will race again. His Garmin Sharp team wants to ease the Danish rider back into competition and he will next line out in the GP Industria & Artigianato on April 27th, then the Toscana event one day later.
“The current plan is for Alex to race at the end of April in the Giro di Toscana and GP Larciano,” directeur sportif Charly Wegelius stated today.
The rider has spent a long time on the sidelines as a result of his whereabouts ban and is consequently lacking sharpness. Rather than throwing him in at the deep end, Wegelius said that the team wants to take things step by step.
As a result starting the Giro d’Italia appears very unlikely. Rasmussen rode the Giro in 2011 and 2012, netting second in the final time trial on the first of those editions of the race.
“The first priority at the moment is to get Alex back into race situations,” explained Wegelius. “Only then will we be able to accurately assess things. From there we will be able to have a better idea of targets for the rest of the season.”
Rasmussen is a strong rider and also good against the clock, as that Giro 2011 ride showed. While his time away from racing will necessitate work to get back to his former level, he will likely hope to ride a Grand Tour this year in order to lay a solid foundation for the world championships and the 2014 season.