Following previous spring seasons spent in wilderness Team Sky was expected to finally pull out a good classics campaigns with a changed approach and squad united more than even before. Indeed, the British team recorded satisfying results in cobbled one-day events courtesy of Geraint Thomas and the joker, Bradley Wiggins, but despite highly promising opening at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad Ian Stannard was denied being a part of that success following a bad crash he suffered in Gent-Wavelgem.

Stannard fractured his vertebrae in a bad Gent-Wavelgem crash after flying into the ditch, and even though initial screenings lookes favourable, further medical investigation revealed that his injuries were far more complex than originally assessed, leaving no doubts that the 26-year old Briton won’t recover on time to make the Team Sky Tour de France roster.

“In the week after the crash I visited a neurosurgeon and had CT and MR scans. When the results from those came through [team doctor] Phil Riley booked me an appointment with a pure spine specialist in London and he was the one who detailed the extent of my injuries. He said I’d been really lucky not to suffer any permanent damage because my vertebrae had been quite badly damaged,” Stannard told on Team Sky official website.

“It was really hard to take, especially when it became clear that I wouldn’t be riding the Tour de France. At the same time, it was nice to get a definitive call - a clear cut decision. There was no uncertainty about what I should and shouldn’t be doing.”

The 26-year old classics specialist undergoes recovery period since the beginning of April. Stannard revealed that it’s been the longest time off the bike he has spent since turning professional at that it badly affects both his physical and mental condition.

“Yes, it’s the longest stretch I’ve had off my bike in years and years, as far back as I can remember actually.”

“[It’s] really stressful. As professional cyclists, we’re used to training five or six hours a day, and then there’s the whole lifestyle that comes with that like diet, recovery and things. When that gets taken away it’s really hard for us to adjust because we’ve become so accustomed to doing it.

“I’d been training hard since the end of last year and that was all wasted. I spent a lot of time in Australia, did all the build up for the Classics, and then I picked up my injury just days before the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix. I had all that stress in the build up to those races, and all the stress that came with having a broken back, and then the stress of not being able to ride the Tour.

“It’s been hard to switch off entirely even now. I’m more stressed resting up than I am when I’m racing. At least when you know you’re in condition and into the familiar rhythm of the season. Right now, I’ve not done any exercise, my weight’s going up, my fitness is going down, so there’s a lot of mixed emotions and it’s tough.

“If I’d had my accident at the end of the season, I’d have been able to turn off properly, but it happened before the two biggest races of my season. There’s been so much racing going on since then as well that I’ve been desperate to get back on my bike.,” Stannard concluded.