Three months after his heavy crash at the Vuelta a Espana Kris Boeckmans (28) is working hard to make his comeback in the peloton. "I look at it week by week, but I want to be good again at the Belgian Championships," he said at the press launch of Lotto Soudal.

A few days ago Lotto Soudal was presented to the international press. One of the atendees was Kris Boeckmans. The Belgian king of victory in 2015 crashed in the Vuelta and suffered numerous serious injuries but is now getting better.

"At the training camp with the team in Mallorca, I could almost ride 400 kilometers with my team mates. It's really amazing where I am Sometimes I think: is this normal?

"The team leader even told me that from the car it seems like I had never crashed at that Vuelta a Espana. Despite the fact that it is only three months since I crashed, he did not notice anything about my descending.”

Does the crash still play with Boeckmans’ mind? "Actually not. I do not really think about it. What I think about is: How does it feel to ride uphill? And above all: how will the descents be? Will I be afraid?"

Boeckmans was in a medically induced coma after his serious crash in the Vuelta, but it seems that he will be able to make a full recovery. Does he already focus on certain races for next season? "I look at it week by week.

"It's hard to make predictions, but I always told myself that I want to be good at the Belgian Championships (June 26, ed.) People didn’t believe me, but in the meantime some even have started to say that I could be back in the peloton already in March.

"I also feel that it could be earlier than the Belgian Championships but not everything is recovered 100%. After the spring classics, a lot of riders take a rest and there is a kind of transitional period in the peloton. This is the ideal time to rejoin the peloton.

"Ultimately,I want to find my old level again and get somewhere. Of course I am still far from it, but I'm on the right track."

Despite his heavy crash Boeckmans has had lots of support from his Lotto-Soudal team. "I have a real family feeling with this team. My crash has created another band.

"Marc Sergeant (team manager, red) came to visit me when I was still in a coma and immediately saw the seriousness of the situation. Then he vistited me and encouraged me a few more times, like many teammates and coaches. That does a lot of good.

"For me, cycling has never been a closed chapter. To get back in the peloton was always my motivation. I wanted to be able to ride for six hours again, my dinner and now I can do that. That was not possible during the last three months.”