Esteban Chaves (Orica-Scott) has never needed an excuse for a smile, but the Colombian certainly had plenty to be happy about as he arrived in Saint-Etienne on Sunday morning for the start of the Critérium du Dauphiné, his first race since February.
Beaming, as ever, from ear to ear, the Orica-Scott rider relished the normally mundane pre-race rituals, such as pinning the dossards onto the back of his jersey and rolling to the start line to sign in for the stage ahead – things a knee injury had deprived him of for the best part of four months.
“I’m just so happy to be back,” he told Cyclingnews outside the Orica-Scott team bus in Saint-Etienne, where a Colombian fan had pitched himself with over a dozen photos of Chaves he wanted signing.
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“I haven’t raced since February, and I haven’t raced in Europe since October, so it’s quite emotional to be back at a race. Also I've hardly raced in France – I’ve never done Paris-Nice, never done the Dauphiné, never done the Tour – so it will be a really good experience for me.
“There are nerves, for sure, but that’s always the case. I believe it’s better to have nerves than not to.”
After podium finishes at both the Giro d’Italia and Vuelta a España last year, Chaves’ 2017 season was structured around a Tour de France debut, but it went off the rails after a solid early start in Australia. After returning home to Colombia in early February, he picked up a knee problem and hasn’t raced since.
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