Forty days after his crash in the Tour de France, Xavier Zandio discovered that he had a broken vertebra. The news came as a relief for him although it meant that his season ended in mid-August. But at least he found a reason for their back pain that prevented him from sleeping. After the rest period, the Team Sky rider resumed training last week to prepare for next year.

Zandio crashed in the sixth stage of the Tour de France on July 10, an incident that forced him to abandon. Medical tests discarded a major injury or fracture. 

"I really hurt my back and I was unconscious. There even is a time from which I don't remember anything. I did a full CT scan and was told that everything was fine. I thought I was only bruised," he recalls.

As he felt better, he resumed training with the goal of making a competitive return and with an eye on the Vuelta a Espana. 

"I had two very swollen knees and so I waited two weeks before I started cycling. A month passed and things did not improve. Especially at night I could not sleep because of the pain. Still, I was training hard to go to the Vuelta a Espana. That was definitely not the right thing to do," he says.

He started the Clasica San Sebastian but did not finish the race. Something was wrong. 

"After San Sebastian, the doctor told me to do some tests of the knee to rule out anything ahead of the Vuelta because it was still slightly swollen. At the hospital (at the University Clinic in Pamplona), I ordered an MRI of the back. And when I went to see the results, in the week when the Vuelta a Espana was set to start, I was told that I had a broken vertebra," he says.

The only solution was to rest. Having recovered, Zandio has again started to train as he has a contract for the 2015 season

"I started training last week, and things are going well even though it is hard.When I have done more than two hours which is normally almost no effort, the body starts to say that enough is enough," he admits.

Nonetheless, the break has been good. 

"When I was told that I was not going to the Vuelta, it was a relief because I was tired as the crash had cost me a lot of energy. I was a bit broken but today, after two months of rest, I am ready to start. I look forward to the beginning of the season and I have time to prepare myself properly," he says. 

The vertebra is almost forgotten. 

"At night it hurts a bit, but on the bike it does not bother me. I train without problems," he reveals.

He regrets that his season has been a bit short with just 43 days of competition.

"At first I raced a lot and had the idea to do the Giro but I changed it to focus on the Tour and the Dauphiné. In the end, I could only do six stages of the Tour and I've not raced again after I abandoned San Sebastian," he summarizes his season.

Team Sky has already started to prepare for 2015.

"Next week we will meet in London. And instead of going to Mallorca in December, we will go to another desitination. Every year there are changes, both big things and small details. I learned some at a meeting earlier this month in London where we got our clothes. We saw the physio and did medical examinations," he says.

Zandio also admits that it has not been the best season for his team.

"Sometimes things don't go right even though you don't know wehy. I don't think we've done a bad year, it's not a disaster, but in the three grand tours we have had bad luck and have failed to win a stage. With his second place in the Vuelta, Froome did well but this team aspires to more after winning the Tour the past two years. We have learnt a lot and are ready to fact next year with more enthusiasm," he concludes.