Published December 25, 2016 10:20AM
Injured Van der Haar set for return at Heusden-Zolder
European cyclo-cross champion Lars van der Haar (Giant-Alpecin) has been cleared to return to the bike for Monday’s UCI World Cup round at Heusden-Zolder.
Lars van der Haar got off to a decent start in the third round of the Superprestige series in Ruddervoorde, but he faded from contention before long. Photo: Tim De Waele | <a href="http://www.tdwsport.com" target="_blank">TDWsport.com</a>
The 2015/2016 UCI cyclo-cross world championships silver medalist Lars van der Haar (Giant-Alpecin) has been cleared to return to the bike for Monday’s UCI World Cup round at Heusden-Zolder.
The 25-year-old Dutch rider suffered a tear in his left rectus femoris muscle during the Superprestige Ruddevoorde in November.
According to a team release, the 2015 European champion is ready to return after significant improvements as a result of working with team medical and performance personnel during his recovery.
“I am happy to restart at Heusden Zolder,” stated Van der Harr. “I’ve had some tough weeks and worked really hard on my recovery. It was still uncertain for a while if I would be able to race again in 2016, but I am really happy to do so.”
Van der Haar joins Belgium-based UCI Continental team Telenet-Fidea next season after spending two years with the German-registered WorldTour squad, which will compete under the name Team Sunweb in 2017.
ADVERTISEMENT
“This will close my period at Team Giant-Alpecin nicely, and to make a fresh start in January,” he said. “Rather than focusing on results my goal will be to finish the race on Monday.”
Based upon his upcoming performance at Heusden-Zolder, a decision will be made about participation at Loenhout.
“It’s been almost two months since he sustained the injury and Lars’ recovery has progressed nicely,” said team physician Anko Boelens. “After extensive tests, we now feel that Lars is ready to participate in racing again. Ultrasound scans show the lesion has healed well and further tests on the bike show his leg is strong enough to get back racing.”