Back last month when Bora-Argon 18, soon to be Bora-hansgrohe, released a press statement detailing their full 2017 team, many were surprised to see the team mention that 27 year old climber Dominik Nerz was retiring from the sport.

Nerz has now revealed that a series of 2015 crashes on his head had caused him pain and it will now take until well into 2017 before he is full healed.

Nerz says he crashed on his head six or seven times last year, with his worst coming in the Dauphine. He ignored the signs of pain and proceeded to the Tour de France, where two more head injuries occurred, followed by a stomach bug that put an end to his Tour.

"I should have listened to my inner signals much more often and I should never have started the Tour," Nerz acknowledged to the Süddeutsche Zeitung. "It is difficult to draw boundaries because we always want to perform and constantly put pressure on ourselves. It will take more than a year before I am fully recovered."