Cycling: Dean struggling in Giro d'Italia

New Zealander Julian Dean says he is paying a price for coming into the Giro d'Italia cycling tour less than fully fit.

"The reality of being back on the bike only long enough to prepare solely for the team time-trial has started to hit home as I struggle through these early stages of the race," Dean said after the fourth stage which featured the tour's first mountain-top finish at San Martino di Castroza, 1498m above sea level.

He lies in 161st position.

Dean's preparation was curtailed after he crashed in a Belgian race last month, suffering a deep gash to a thigh.

The second and third stages had been tough, he said.

"I was a little shocked by the intensity and difficulty coming into the final (sprints) and was not able to hold my own either day and so did little to help the team out," he wrote on his website.

"Whenever I first come back from injury, I always wonder how I will ever be able to get back to that high level of fitness - and not just the physical fitness, but also the mental fitness that allows me to cope with the intensity of these races: from the noise of the helicopters overhead; to the motorbikes and cars weaving through and whizzing by; to the cheering hoards of people; to the narrow roads, dangerous corners and city streets full of road furniture.

"It seems impossible that anyone can train themselves to cope with it all.

"I guess that these moments in my career just give me a reality check on the difficulties of our sport and all that we have to cope with."

In this morning's stage, the reality of not being fully prepared for the Giro continued to bite.

"It wasn't the hardest of stages at only 160km, but I really didn't feel too comfortable for the majority of the day.

"I haven't been doing a lot of that sort of riding so my legs are suddenly taking a thumping and letting me know about it."

The race continues tomorrow morning with a 125km ride from San Martino to the Sudtirol region in the Swiss Alps, 1844m above sea level.

Sweden's Thomas Lovkvist from the Columbia team leads the tour with a time of 13 hours, five minutes 28 seconds. Dean, who rides for Garmin Slipstream, is 26min 30sec behind in 161st.

- NZPA