Alessandro De Marchi makes his return to competition Wednesday at Grand Prix Cerami following extended rehabilitation from tendonitis in his left foot.

De Marchi will start the one-day race in Belgium after being sidelined for nearly four months. He last raced at Milan-San Remo on March 22.

"I had not imagined it would be so long," De Marchi said. "But after the first few weeks, I realized recovery would be very long. But the team has been very supportive and has never wanted to force my way back."

Winner of the combativity prize at last year's Tour de France, De Marchi said he has clear expectations for what is possible.

"The main goal of these early races will be to regain feeling with the race pace and to make sure that physically I still feel good and do not have relapses," he said.

Philippe Gilbert will also make a return to racing Wednesday. The double stage winner at the Giro d'Italia has recovered from a small, non-displaced fracture on his lower right leg.

Also joining De Marchi and Gilbert for the 210.8-kilometer race is Loïc Vliegen, who will make his professional debut with the BMC Racing Team after competing for the BMC Development Team the past two seasons.

The rest of the BMC Racing Team's roster consists of Tour of Austria stage winner Rick Zabel, past Slovakian national time trial champion Peter Velits, Dylan Teuns, Jempy Drucker and Marcus Burghardt.