Thomas Gloag (Visma-Lease a Bike) will make his long-awaited return to racing at the Czech Tour, almost one year after being hit by a driver of a car last August and breaking his kneecap.
It will be 362 days since the talented young Brit has raced when he takes the start on Thursday, with his last appearance being the Clasica San Sebastian at the end of July in 2023. Surgery and a lengthy rehabilitation period kept him out of competition for much of his second full year with Visma.
“I was riding home after a recovery training. Suddenly, I was hit by a car, and I broke my kneecap. What I remember is looking at my left leg after the collision and seeing that my kneecap didn’t look right,” said Gloag as he recalled the incident in a release from the team.
“At the moment, I feel happy and healthy again. I have completed a good training block. It feels like a victory that I can finally return to racing. A race is, of course, very different from training.”
Gloag showed great signs in 2023 as a neo-pro with sixth overall at the Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana and 11th at the Tour de Romandie, before struggling through a Grand Tour debut at the Giro d'Italia, where he was called up on extremely short notice.
He did make it through the 21 stages as team leader Primož Roglič took overall victory. For now, though, Gloag is just delighted to be back as a racer.
“I am looking forward to pinning a race number again and returning to the peloton with my teammates," he said.
"I finally feel like a cyclist again."
Gloag makes up part of a strong Visma-Lease a Bike seven-man squad at the Czech Tour, with youth and experience throughout. Fellow British talent Matthew Brennan joins him after a successful Giro Next Gen, while former Giro King of the Mountains Koen Bouwman brings a wealth of WorldTour experience.
Bouwman will lead the GC charge alongside Johannes Staune-Mittet, the talented Norwegian who took his first pro win at the Czech Tour in 2023. Brennan, Morten Aalling Nørtoft and Dario Igor Belletta will be looking to gain experience stepping up from the development team.
Gloag gave high praise to the physiotherapists, Visma team staff and his girlfriend Lucinda for helping him stay positive through the difficult period as he aims to just settle back into “race rhythm” rather than put any pressure on results.
“It was certainly not an easy time. However, with the support of many people, I managed to get through it,” said Gloag.
“I am mainly focused on gaining race rhythm. Results are not the priority, and I shouldn’t expect that from myself either.
“It is now time to give something back to all the people who helped me. I am immensely grateful to everyone and will never forget how well they treated me. There are too many people to mention, but I want to make them proud now.”
