Exactly one year ago on May 9 Svein Tuft celebrated his 37th birthday in the maglia rosa after Orica-GreenEdge won the Giro d'Italia's opening team time trial in Belfast. It was an experience he hoped to relive this Saturday when the Italian Grand Tour kicks off in San Lorenzo al Mare, however, serious injuries sustained in a crash during the Tour de Romandie last week have sidelined him from this year's race.
"I don't normally get too upset about this sort of stuff. I've always said there's plenty of racing during a season. But for me, as far as my career goes, this is a huge letdown," Tuft told Cyclingnews.
"This race has always been a really big part of my season and something that I've always done. It sets up the rest of your year, but also the experiences you have during it… We always try and send a really good team and this year would be, and will be, one of our best showings. I really wanted to be apart of that whole crew that's going."
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Tuft settled into his new home in Andorra last fall, and reaped the benefits of a no-travel off-season that led into a solid block of winter training. He was on track for a successful start to the 2015 season with a schedule lined up that targeted Tirreno-Adriatico in March, a few of the Classics in April and then Tour de Romandie, all in preparation for a strong performance at the Giro d'Italia, and maybe even a shot at the first leader's jersey again.
He couldn't have anticipated the series of crashes and race-ending injuries that wound up throwing a wrench into his early-season plans. He first crashed during the second stage of Tirreno-Adriatico and damaged the ligaments in his right shoulder. That injury took him out of the seven-day WorldTour race and stopped him from racing the Classics. He took nearly seven weeks off to recover and rebuild strength before his return to the peloton at the Tour de Romandie, only to experience a second crash during stage 2 from Apples - Saint-Imier last Wednesday.
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