Michael Rogers, who started his 2016 season at the Dubai Tour this week, is ready to be competitive after his heart problems. He received the all-clear by the specialists. The Australian rider told Cyclingnews about his physical condition.

"For now they've given me the OK. They saw some progression in this last year. First and foremost it's about safety more that anything else. It's the heart so you can't play around with it," he explained. "That's one thing that came out of it - the specialists that I saw said they were quite happy for me to race another year or two, but after that the risk factor obviously increases."

"Ultimately there might be a decision to make, but we'll take it one step at a time." Now, he wants to be at the start of the next Tour de France with his best legs in order to help Alberto Contador to win the three-week race.

"I've always enjoyed what I do. I still adore getting out there on the bike and racing, and being teammates. I was still training at a good level in Gran Canaria."

UPDATE: New tests have shown that Rogers is not ready to compete at this level yet. He has been forced to withdraw from the race in Dubai.