Cycling: Dean nervously back on his bike seat

New Zealand cyclist Julian Dean is hoping to find his "rhythm of racing" after two months recovering from a shattered elbow.

Dean was back on the road in his first race, the Tour of Benelux, last week and will ride in the Tour d'Limousin in France starting tomorrow.

It comes after eight weeks of rehabilitation from an accident in the Giro d'Italia on May 13 which left his right elbow shattered.

The Rotorua cyclist spent six weeks with his arm in a cast having had eight screws and three plates inserted.

Dean said on his website it "freaked me out having a hardware store in my arm".

But he was more frustrated with the amount of time off the road -- eight weeks in total -- concentrating on regaining his strength at the gym and on the wind trainer.
His first competitive ride was in the new pro tour in the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg last week when he finished 127th.

He said he had been a "little nervous on the corners" with his arm but was delighted to finish the race.

The acceleration out of the corners was uncomfortable but he was determined to complete the tour.

"I know that I need to get through it if I want to be good before the end of the year," he said.

The Credit Agricole cyclist was aiming to ride in the world road race championships in Madrid on September 25.

"(I) think it's going to be difficult to be back in top form before the season is done," he said.

"I want to give things a real good nudge to try and come back strong for the worlds at least."

The 30-year-old Valencia-based cyclist was initially told by his surgeon that the injury to his elbow normally took six months to heal.

Dean said the surgeon told him the cyclist's recovery was "nothing less than remarkable".

- NZPA