During the recent Tour of Qatar, Magnus Bäckstedt's final sprint ended with a dramatic spill, bringing down several riders and resulting in a broken right clavicle for the Swedish rider.
But, just hours after lifting himself off the Tarmac in the desert, the big Swede was on a flight back to the UK and under the surgeon's knife to repair the damage.
Now with a scar to match the one on his left shoulder and still nursing the other damage to the paintwork (cuts and bruises) that you suffer when hitting the deck at high speed, he's back in training.
Paris Roubaix, the cobblestone Classic he won in 2004, is once again the Slipstream rider's big target for the year as he hopes to add another chunk of pave to his mantelpiece.
"Its a set back, but only that. Not a disaster,” says Bäckstedt. “When your life is spent at the head of the race coming into sprints like the one in Qatar, these things happen. You can't race scared, if you have fear, then you may as well pack up and go home.”
“I'll never change the way I race.
“As far as my collarbone is concerned, I am comfortable enough to be able to start on the turbo and believe me; I'll be fit for Roubaix."
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