Tour Colombia not on Mitchelton-Scott rider's schedule
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Mitchelton-Scott's Esteban Chaves is all smiles on the second rest day, but the Colombian would lose 25 minutes the next day to his main rivals(Image credit: Getty Images)
Brayan Chaves is enjoying his time as a stagiaire with Mitchelton-Scott(Image credit: Getty Images)
Mitchelton-Scott's Simon Yates and Esteban Chaves celebrate in their pink and blue jerseys, respectively, after Chaves took the stage win and Yates the overall lead on stage 6 of the 2018 Giro to Mount Etna(Image credit: Getty Images)
Esteban Chaves (Mitchelton-Scott) loses over 25 minutes on stage 10 at the Giro d'Italia(Image credit: Bettini Photo)
Esteban Chaves (Mitchelton-Scott)(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Colombian Esteban Chaves (Mitchelton-Scott) will make his return to racing following eight months of recovery from mononucleosis at the Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana in February, the team announced this week.
The 28-year-old has been away from competition since the 2018 Giro d'Italia, which he entered into as a co-leader with Simon Yates and won a stage on Mount Etna before cracking in the second week and slipping from second to 39th. He fell to 72nd overall at the finish.
Chaves was diagnosed with several viral infections, including glandular fever, a sinus infection and allergies. He spent 10 weeks off the bike before being cleared to resume training.
A podium finisher in the Giro d'Italia and Vuelta a España in 2016, Chaves said last month that he was back to normal and hoping to compete in his home Tour Colombia, but said his programme had not yet been confirmed. Mitchelton-Scott clarified to Cyclingnews that the Colombian race was never on his programme and that the Volta a Valenciana would be his first race back.
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