Giulio Ciccone has admitted he will have to start his 2024 training from zero after surgery for a nasty saddle sore means he will spend four weeks off the bike.
The Lidl-Trek rider was supposed to head to altitude at Mount Teide and then target Tirreno-Adriatico in early March. He underwent surgery on Monday and now he is even unsure about riding the Giro d’Italia in May.
"It's a huge blow", the 2023 Tour de France polka-dot jersey winner told La Gazzetta dello Sport as he began his recovery from surgery.
"I'll have to start from zero after such a long period off the bike. Everything will take time and when I start training again, I can't go at 100% with a heavy training programme."
Ciccone revealed that he first felt problems in January and he and Lidl-Trek tried other treatments before surgery became unavoidable.
"I just couldn't ride my bike. There was no alternative," Ciccone admitted.
He underwent surgery in Milan with the same surgeon who treated Fausto Masnada last year. The Soudal-Quick Step rider was out of action for most of the summer and was unable to help Remco Evenepoel in the Grand Tours but has now made a full recovery.
Ciccone was supposed to lead Lidl-Trek at the Giro d'Italia, with Tao Geoghegan Hart and Mattias Skjelmose the team's GC riders for the Tour de France. Ciccone could perhaps return to the Tour de France this summer, with Lidl-Trek focusing on stage victories at the Giro d'Italia with sprinter Jonathan Milan.
Ciccone could race again as soon as April but neither he nor Lidl-Trek want to take any risks.
"I want to make a full recovery and that's why a long period off the bike is needed. Rushing things could be risky," Ciccone, who last June extended his contract with Lidl-Trek through the end of the 2027 season, explained.
"At the moment it's difficult to think about when I'll be back racing. For sure it'll be impossible to get ready for the Giro as I'd planned. For now I want to recover, get back on the bike and then see what happens.
"I don't want to throw away the whole season, I want to achieve something. It's true I've got to start from scratch, but there is a long season ahead of us.
"After all the problems I've faced in recent years, I think I've 'paid' enough. When I get back racing, I want to get some payback for everything I've overcome. I think I deserve it."
