For the majority of riders at the 2019 Giro d'Italia, it's only when this year's race is over that they'll evaluate their performances in terms of success or failure. But for Antwan Tolhoek (Jumbo-Visma), merely rolling down the start ramp of stage 1's Grande Partenza time trial in Bologna will feel like something of a triumph.
It's been a rollercoaster 12 months for the Dutch climbing domestique, set to be one of Primoz Roglic's key support men in the Dolomites and Alps. Originally slated for the 2018 Giro, an untimely bout of tendonitis meant he had to drop out of the Jumbo line-up last May and, after completely restructuring his season, target the Tour de France instead.
That turned out well enough, to the point that Tolhoek was one of the Dutch team's best mountain workers for Roglic and Steven Kruijswijk. But after placing 10th at the Clásica San Sebastian last August and taking second place at the Japan Cup in October, the 25-year-old suffered a dramatic setback when his winter break was wrecked by a bizarre eye infection that hit him for the first time as he was sitting on a long-haul flight from Shanghai to Amsterdam.
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"I took out my contact lenses to sleep on the plane and it hurt, and at first I thought, 'OK, maybe it was something from some water I used to wash them, so that's why they are inflamed,'" Tolhoek tells Cyclingnews ahead of the start of the 2019 Giro.
"But I finally lost sight in both eyes because they swelled up so badly. I was alone, on a long-haul plane, so it was a scary time."
Seen by a doctor in Amsterdam as soon as the plane touched down, the initial diagnosis was encouraging.
You can read more at Cyclingnews.com
via Cyclingnews Latest Interviews and Features http://www.cyclingnews.com/features/tolhoek-makes-giro-ditalia-debut-having-nearly-lost-his-sight
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