Bos to go under the knife on Monday

Theo Bos (Rabobank) has explained that the decision to give up on his Olympic Track hopes for next year was a matter of practicalities in an interview with NUSport.nl.

Bos has been diagnosed with a problem with his Iliac artery which has caused pain to his left leg whenever he has exerted high pressure on it. He will go under the knife on Monday to hopefully alleviate the problem and will then have to completely immobilise his leg for six weeks. He can begin to return to light activity after that.

"It's been like riding with only one leg," Bos said. "Lately things have been getting worse, and that made me rethink the idea that I could try and put off the operation till after the London Olympics."

The former track world champion said that trying to continue on would come at too great a sacrifice to his 2011 road season, but did add that riding with the Dutch team in the Olympic road race could still be an option.

"Of course it's disappointing but trying to ride more than half the road season with the injury would have been a disaster. I wouldn't have been able to do my job for Rabobank, and so the decision was inevitable. 

"The omnium is an event where I believe I could have excelled. And I might be 100 per cent in August, but the Olympic qualification events come well before that, and I wouldn't have been at my best at that point. With this type of operation you don't want to rush the recovery.

"There is still the possibility to be selected for the Dutch team for the road race, but I'm not counting on it. My main goal is the Giro next year."

Bos has never won a gold medal at an Olympic event, coming closest in 2004 in Athens where he picked up silver in the sprint.