Davison rides again after hard winter
Tom Davison is ready to race for the first time since he broke his collarbone in May, lining up with his Avanti cycling team at the National Capital Tour in Canberra on Friday.
The Christchurch rider is looking to get his career back on track and will be joined by New Zealand national road race champion Joe Cooper, riding in support of Kiwi Patrick Bevin who won the race last year.
‘‘Having that much time off, I pretty much did start from scratch again. My fitness was woeful coming back after surgery, but I’ve managed to bounce back really really well.’’
Davison’s accident came in the final kilometre of the last stage of the Tour of Japan. He still managed to finish second in the youth classification despite the crash but it’s been a long road back to riding with his Avanti team mates.
‘‘Fitness is probably not 100%, I’m definitely not where I was but I’m probably at 85%-90% of my best. It’s not ideal, I’m not in awesome shape, just in really good shape.’’
After surgery, the Christchurch cyclist spent his days cycling on an indoor trainer, before making an uncomfortable return to the roads.
‘‘I was on the road for I think an hour, and then I didn’t go back for like five days because it was so sore. That might have been a little bit too early.’’
He admitted that just over three months with no racing tested his commitment, particularly as it was his first New Zealand winter in seven years.
‘‘It added insult to injury, it was just so so cold and I’m definitely not used to it, so that didn’t help my mental state, already being incapacitated with my shoulder, it really didn’t help at all.’’
Avanti did their best to keep the 25-year-old motivated, as well as some encouraging words from his coach Greg Henderson and fellow cycling professional Jesse Sergent who also broke their collarbones in 2015.
Once fully recovered, he spent time ‘bombing down Dyers Pass Road’’ to regain his bike handling skills and and has been preparing at an Avanti team camp in Australia, so he can get straight into the mix in Canberra.
‘‘One of the stages is the criterium, a really tight, technical course with 140 guys so it’s going to be a bit sketchy and that might test the nerves a little bit.
‘‘If I can get through that, then I should be sweet. I’m pretty confident with my handling again, but we’ll have to see what happens.’’
Avanti are motivated by current national road series and reigning capital tour champion Paddy Bevin looking for another win in 2015. Bevin leaves the team in December to join CannondaleGarmin. Davison’s goals extend beyond Canberra, and he hopes to be at his best by the Tour of Southland in November.