Special race for return

GEELONG cyclist Oliver Kent-Spark will make his comeback from a collarbone injury in Saturday’s Melbourne to Warrnambool race.

The 24-year-old, who won the race in 2014, broke his collarbone in the Tour of the Great South Coast — which started in Mt Gambier — at the end of July.

Kent-Spark had returned from riding overseas when the injury curtailed his campaign.

“I was riding over in Belgium, so we did a six-week block in Europe and flew home the end of July to ride in the Tour of the Great South Coast,” he said.

“Stage two there I came off my bike and broke my collarbone, which was disappointing, but it was the first time I’ve ever broken a bone, so I’ve been pretty fortunate to be riding for 10-odd years and not had a serious incident like that.”

Saturday’s race will mark his return to racing, but with the Aussie season winding down, Kent-Spark will treat the 277km trek as the start of his pre-season.

“Having had that time off the bike, I’ll probably treat that injury period as the time I’ll have my break and train all the way through to January,” he said.

“I’m very keen to get back racing and doing something I love again.”

But it is a race of which he has fond memories.

After failing to finish in the 2013 edition, he won the race in 2014 and finished third in 2015.

“Last year I was racing overseas in Europe, so I wasn’t home in time,” he said.

The Drapac Pat’s Veg Holistic Development Team member is hoping the Melbourne to Warrnambool race can provide a good result for his team.

“I’ve just been back on the road for 3½, four weeks now. Preparation hasn’t been ideal but we’ve got a strong team; there’s only a few of us but we should have a good showing on Saturday,” Kent-Spark said.

“This is one of the last races, so the week after the Warrnambool we’ll ride in the Tour of Gippsland.”