Belgian champ back on the bike after kidney injury
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Phlippe Gilbert celebrates winning the 2017 Amstel Gold Race(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Michal Kwiatkowski and Phlippe Gilbert ride toward the finish of Amstel Gold(Image credit: Courtesy of Polartec-Kometa)
Phlippe Gilbert and Michal Kwiatkowski pull away from the lead group at the 2017 Amstel Gold Race(Image credit: Courtesy of Polartec-Kometa)
Philippe Gilbert wins the 2017 Tour of Flanders
Philippe Gilbert (Quick-Step Floors) kisses the trophy(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
After taking a short break to recover from a small tear to his kidney, Philippe Gilbert has been cleared to get back on the bike, Quick-Step Floors announced Wednesday.
The Tour of Flanders winner sustained the injury in a crash early on in the Amstel Gold Race. He went on to take the victory ahead of Michal Kwiatkowski, but a visit to the hospital after the event revealed the tear in his right kidney.
That sidelined him for the rest of the Ardennes Classics and forced him to cancel a planned start at the upcoming Giro d'Italia, but the Belgian national champion is now ready to return to training.
Gilbert will appear at the 'Tom Says Thanks' event on Saturday along with several other stars for a fan-friendly send-off to Tom Boonen, and then he'll line up at the Philippe Gilbert Classic - a race he organises in Belgium - on Sunday.
Quick-Step Floors is set to release an updated race schedule for Gilbert in the coming days.
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