Hansen returns to racing

By Susan Westemeyer

A bad crash early in the Giro d'Italia put an abrupt end to Adam Hansen's Grand Tour debut. The T-Mobile rider underwent several hours of surgery to put his right ring and little fingers back together. Now he is ready to start racing again.

"Things are good, I guess," he told Cyclingnews. "I have trained well but it's going to be hard to tell what I can really do. My hand is not 100 percent yet. I have no real problems - just can't get a full grip on the handle bars, that's all. But it's well enough to race. I'm fit and all."

The Aussie will ride the Österreich Rundfahrt, which starts Saturday. It's a race he knows well. "Racing the Austria Tour will be fun for me, it's my home race," said Hansen. "I've done it in the past so I know the mountains well. I have trained on them before. Austria is where I grew up to race. Plus Austria is one of the most beautiful countries in Europe, so I'm looking forward to be there."