Moletta back on the bike

When Andrea Moletta dramatically somersaulted into a lamppost in Milan-San Remo, his Gerolsteiner team expected him to miss the rest of the season, or if he was lucky, to come back for one or two races at the end of the year.

The televised crash broke his femur and he had a metal plate put in to hold the bone but now Gerolsteiner is happy to say that the Italian is healing faster than expected. "He's back on the road and he's able to train already three hours since last weekend," team spokesman Jörg Grünefeld told Cyclingnews. "If things are going on like that, he may be able to ride the Brixia-Tour, which is held in July."

After the accident, Moletta had sworn to ride the Vuelta a Espana, and the chances are now looking better that he will fulfil his prediction.

Another Italian on the team, newcomer Oliver Zaugg, discovered that he will require knee surgery eventually after dropping out of the Giro on the 14th stage with sitting problems. "His knee was hurting, but not so much. Now they found out that a bursa is irritated by a scar on the knee," Grünefeld said. He will need surgery to take care of the scar, but it can wait until the end of the season.