Niermann back in the saddle

By Susan Westemeyer

Grischa Niermann is on his bike again, only six days after a collision with a motorcycle in the first stage of Tirreno-Adriatico left with him a broken bone in his ankle. He noted, however, that he can train but may not race again until everything is properly healed, which will be about four weeks.

"The splint, which I have to wear to stabilize my ankle, fits in my racing shoe, fortunately, so that I can more or less pedal," he wrote on his website, grischa-niermann.de. "Right now I can't go out of the saddle or put too much pressure on the pedal, but at least I can ride my bike."

If all goes well, the Rabobank rider hopes to be able to start the Vuelta Ciclista al Pais Vasco on April 9.