Karsten KroonBMC Racing’s Karsten Kroon is looking to the Tour of California for his return to racing following a crash in Wednesday’s Flèche Wallonne.  With 70 kilometers left to race, the Dutchman was involved in a pile-up and came away with a broken nose, cheekbone and sinus bone on the right side of his face.

Despite his injuries, Kroon was able to join the team later that evening to celebrate Cadel Evans’ victory in the race, which was the first for the team this year and the biggest in its history.  At the time BMC Racing’s sports director John Lelangue said, “We will need a few days for the swelling to go down. Then we will see how things will go. We’ll definitely give him time to recover and come back to a normal level.”

Kroon is optimistic about having a speedy recovery and told De Telegraaf yesterday, “I have quite a few stitches. I look ridiculous, but I think that it will heal quickly.”

The Tour of California starts on May 18th in Nevada City and ends a week later with a circuit race that takes place on a 21-mile loop through the cities of Thousand Oaks, Westlake Village and Agoura Hills.