A recurring groin injury ruled Team Dimension Data’s Reinardt Janse van Rensburg out for most of the first half of the season, but he intends to come back stronger as the year unfolds and is already making an impact.
Janse van Rensburg, from Pretoria, had to withdraw from the SA National Road Championships in February, preventing him from defending his road-race title.
He battled with the injury last year, before having it operated on in October.
“It has been a much harder recovery [process] than initially expected,” Janse van Rensburg told In the Bunch.
“Although groin injuries are common in athletes, they are very rare in cyclists. Therefore there was not any time frame or any reference given on how long the recovery would take.”
Team Dimension Data’s Reinhardt Janse van Rensburg, but he intends to come back stronger as the year unfolds and is already making an impact. Arne Mill/frontalvision.com/Stiehl Photography
Then there was a further complication. “Later on we discovered I had tendinosis [damage to a tendon at a cellular level] in my adductors [skeletal muscle in the thigh], which took some time to heal.
“I am still recovering from the full extent of the injury, but with each passing week I am feeling stronger and better.”
Janse van Rensburg took part in two Norwegian races last month, the Tour of Norway and the Tour des Fjords, before competing in his first WordTour event of the season, the Tour de Suisse last week.
He began displaying good signs in the nine-stage Swiss race when he placed seventh in stage eight, before withdrawing from the event.
“Over the last few weeks I have made nice progress,” he said. “I am happy with how it went at Suisse.
“I just missed the leading group on the first day which was disappointing, but I was also surprised I was so close to the front. It was a good sign.
“I then survived the mountain stages without too much difficulty. On the eighth stage I was able to contest in the bunch sprint and finished seventh against many top sprinters.”
Although still in the “rebuilding” phase, Janse van Rensburg said he hoped to serve the team well at the biggest event on the cycling calendar, the Tour de France beginning on July 7.
“I am taking it week by week at the moment and I am trying to rebuild my fitness to come back even stronger.
“I want to be ready for the Tour [de France] where the team will need me in the lead-outs.
“If I am able to reproduce the same kind of lead-outs as at last year’s Tour I will be happy. That will be my job if I am selected.
“I think I could get some good results and maybe a win or two in the second half of the season.”
The 29-year-old said he was happy to slot back into the team set-up again.
“I missed a lot at the start of the season, but it only means I am hungrier to race now.
“The team has been very supportive and the medical staff did a great job to get me back on my bike.”
This week Janse van Rensburg was included in Team DiData for the inaugural Adriatica Ionica Race in Italy.
DiData just missed the podium – finishing fourth – in the first-stage team time-trial yesterday.
Largely a sprinters’ race, Janse van Rensburg said their goal was to play a supportive role for Briton Mark Cavendish.
“The goal is to get Mark across the line first whenever there is a bunch sprint,” he said. “My job is part of the lead-out, which we want to tweak before we head to the Tour [de France].
“I also want to give it a go on the slightly harder stages,” he added.
The second stage of the Adriatica is a 152.5km road race later today.
