Sjoerd Bax returns to racing sooner than expected, even though he doubts himself: "Just ride to the feed zone, halfway"

"It actually went quite quickly, and at some point, I was listed to race even though I wasn’t sure if I was ready. The goal was more about getting some training in and trying to finish. That's been going increasingly better. The past month has seen rapid progress, although I still feel it when accelerating in corners."

"A kind of pressure pain in my hip, within the joint itself. It also took a hit, so there's still some inflammation fluid there. That's what I feel."

"Not really, I actually feel pretty good. I'm making good progress, including with my fitness. Initially, I could only cycle gently, but that allowed me to build my condition in a good way. My hip and my fitness improved bit by bit, hand in hand."

"Well, I had my doubts about the first few races. 'Just ride to the feed zone, halfway,' they would say. Then people look at the results and see I had four consecutive DNFs, but for me, being able to be in a race for a hundred kilometers and eventually help the team again was a big deal. Now, it's almost back to business as usual."

"Yes, I discussed it with my coach. But they said I could just drop out if it wasn't working. Medically, there was no doubt; my bone had healed, and I couldn't do any harm. It was probably just my own fear."

"Yes, actually. I think in a month or two, I won't even feel it in races anymore."

"No, not really! I'm racing in beautiful and very tough races here. I've always found races in Italy to be beautiful. When I see them crashing on mud sections in the GP Denain, I'm glad I'm racing here."

"With Nils Politt, they've really added a strong rider. Tim Wellens benefits from that too. We may not be Visma | Lease a Bike or Lidl-Trek, but we're close behind. It'll be tough to beat Mathieu (van der Poel, ed.), but that's a problem everyone has."

"I'm competing in some smaller races, mainly stage races. Though, the Tour of the Basque Country is also on my schedule, and that's going to be a real test, haha! I'm glad Coppi e Bartali went well; it was good preparation. I'm also looking forward to the Tour of Austria and hoping to get back into time trialing. I thought that might take longer with my hip, but I've noticed good progress in races."

"He's actually a calm and funny guy, someone from the old school of cycling. I mean that in the best way. He doesn’t weigh his food, enjoys an extra pastry at breakfast, and isn’t too keen on everyone wearing overshoes at the start. He's more about just riding. It's great that his class still shines through, paying off in his performances."