Petr Vakoč plans to be racing in February

Quick Step’s Czech rider Petr Vakoč plans to be racing in 100 days, according to his recovery blog. A driver hit Vakoč and teammate Laurens De Plus on January 25 while they were training in South Africa. The Czech required surgery for several fractures of the vertebrae, while De Plus suffered minor pulmonary and kidney contusions. Liège–Bastogne–Liège title tolder Bob Jungels escaped injury.

By March Vakoč was pedaling on a trainer suspended from the ceiling. His last race saw him come 8th place in Binche-Chimay-Binche on October 3 of last year. In 2016 Vakoč won the Royal Bernard Drôme Classic in late February and the Flanders Classic De Brabantse Pijl-La Flèche Brabançonne in mid-April.

On Tuesday, Vakoč expressed confidence that he would be on a race start line in 100 days. He wrote, “I have immense support from the team. I have the opportunity to take my time to get healthy and fit, without any pressure to prove myself in the last races of this season or to be ready for the very beginning of the next. I really appreciate it, in a professional sport it is not something to be taken for granted. Therefore, I can focus all my energy on getting back to full strength. If everything goes according to plan, in exactly 100 days I will pin the number on my back again and step on the start line with the rest of the Wolfpack.”

In his latest blog, @PetrVakoc – who will continue with Quick-Step Floors in 2019 – talks of his injury, subsequent recovery process spanned over several months and his goal of returning to the peloton next February: https://t.co/q2CCDIMiCv pic.twitter.com/z2lPyyhdVv

— Deceuninck-QuickStep (@deceuninck_qst) November 6, 2018

His team responded with enthusiasm.