Oliver Zaugg of Tinkoff-Saxo was forced to abandon the Dubai Tour before its first ever edition came to an end, as the Swiss rider experienced an accident with a car on a fourth stage from Dubai to Burj Khalifa last Saturday.

The Tinkoff-Saxo rider returned to his home Switzerland where a strong pain forced him to undergo a further examination and a successful surgery as it turned out that the former Il Lombardia champion had his hand broken in a consequence of the crash, when a car hit him with a speed about 60km/h.

Now Zaugg admits that an accident and recovery period, approximately between 5 to 6 weeks long, is a serious blow to his preparations before first objectives planned for spring, but he still manages to remain optimistic while contacting his followers on twitter.

"This is a blow to my preparations for the spring, I can only hope for a speedy recovery," said the 32 year-old winner of Il Lombardia 2011

"After this, I look forward and come back strong! "