Dessel eyes March return

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Cyril Dessel (AG2R-La Mondiale) has returned to full training after missing the early part of the season due to acute prostatitis. The Frenchman was diagnosed with the ailment ahead of his planned season debut at the Tour de San Luis in January.

Although he was forced to spend 40 days off the bike, Dessel was able to train in the gym in the intervening period and he is hopeful that he will soon be back up to speed.

“I’ve only just returned to training, but I managed to maintain myself physically in the meantime so I’m not starting from zero,” he told the AG2R-La Mondiale team website. “I couldn’t ride my bike but I was able to do some running and weights.”

Dessel is currently at a week-long training camp in Aups with ten of his teammates and he is working towards making a comeback to racing in the next month.

“I have a bit of work to do get back to an acceptable level and compete again,” he admitted. “But it’s already a relief to be at the camp. I don’t know the exact date of my return to competition but if there aren’t any problems, it should be around the middle of March.”

Once Dessel is back in action, his thoughts will immediately turn towards preparing for May’s Giro d’Italia, where he will ride in support of John Gadret. Although his palmares boasts a 6th place finish and a stage win at the Tour de France, Dessel will be making his debut in the Italian race.

“My main objective is to prepare myself in order to get the Giro in the best condition,” he said. “John will be our leader for the overall, and for my part, my ambition will be to do well in a general way, and obviously I’ll be looking to win a stage.”