Two top 10s help Trek-Segafredo rider rebuild confidence after Tour de France crash
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Edward Theuns (Trek - Segafredo) wore the best young rider jersey on stage 2(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Edward Theuns (Image credit: Trek-Segafredo)
Edward Theuns of Trek-Segafredo lies injured after a crash during the 37km Individual Time Trial stage 13 of the Tour de France
Edward Theuns (Trek-Segafredo) was best young rider(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Edward Theuns (Trek-Segafredo)(Image credit: David Pearce)
Edward Theuns (Trek-Segafredo) has continued his comeback from injury with two top 10 places at the Tour Down Under, and the Belgian’s ever-improving health is helping him rebuild his confidence.
Theuns had a breakthrough spring in 2016 during his WorldTour debut but crashed out of the Tour de France, sustaining a serious back injury that kept him out of the bulk of the year.
He suffered a compressed fracture of the T12 vertebra in the fall, and after surgery spent several weeks in a chest brace. He began training in the winter, and although he was only given the all-clear to ride on the Belgian cobbles this month, he has come on leaps and strides.
Eighth on stage 1 at the Tour Down Under was backed up by fifth on stage 3, and although the back is still an issue, the 25-year-old is growing in fitness, form and confidence
"I’m still in some pain. For a stage like the one to Paracombe I could feel that we had been climbing but in general the sensations are okay and in general I don’t have any problems with it. If we’ve been climbing for a while and then I stretch, I can really feel it but most of the pain actually comes after the race because when I’m racing there’s more adrenaline," he told Cyclingnews at the race.
"I’m not back at 100 per cent for the sprints but I’m getting there and the team is doing a really good job. I’m getting back into the sprinting habits, and I know that I’ll get there again. I want to go for them."
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Daniel Benson was the Editor in Chief at Cyclingnews.com between 2008 and 2022. Based in the UK, he joined the Cyclingnews team in 2008 as the site's first UK-based Managing Editor. In that time, he reported on over a dozen editions of the Tour de France, several World Championships, the Tour Down Under, Spring Classics, and the London 2012 Olympic Games. With the help of the excellent editorial team, he ran the coverage on Cyclingnews and has interviewed leading figures in the sport including UCI Presidents and Tour de France winners.
