Backstedt to return at Eroica

2004 Paris Roubaix champion, Magnus Backstedt will return to racing on March 8, after recovering from a broken collarbone sustained in a crash at the Tour of Qatar.

Three days after surgery Backstedt was back on his bike on the indoor trainer and now fully recovered is set to restart his season at the Monte Paschi Eroica this weekend.

"I have come back from this mishap pretty quickly; I had a great training camp down in Girona with the guys. How Mike Friedman went in Het Volk, showed how hard I worked them.

"In terms of power, the numbers are all there. I'm coming back with the GP Eroica on the 8th March and then Tirreno Adriatico"

The big Swede is unsure of what to expect from the Italian race, which has been dubbed Italy's version of Paris Roubaix. "All I'll say is don't expect a 'heroic' ride from me! I just have to ease back into it and get myself used to jumping around again, Paris Roubaix is my number one goal and I am back on target" He concluded.

Backstedt will head to Belgium this week for some testing on the cobbled roads with his Slipstream team-mates, before travelling to Italy for the weekend.