Six months ago Luke Rowe was lying in a Prague hospital bed with his leg shattered in 20 places, but with his recovery exceeding all expectations Rowe is beginning to dream of lining up in Team Sky colours at some point in the Spring Classics.
The Welshman will make his return to competitive action at the Abu Dhabi Tour, which starts on Wednesday, and although he has previously talked about his desire to make Team Sky's squad for the Tour de France in July, he now hopes to return to the most prestigious races in the sport months earlier.
>>> Abu Dhabi Tour live TV guide
"I had completely ruled it out, but it might be possible to look towards the back end of the Classics and be there in good shape," Rowe said. "That would be an absolute dream.
"Maybe it’s being too optimistic to be there at 100 per cent. It’s still early in the process and obviously I’m still doing my rehab. It’s a massive goal though, and time will tell."
Watch: Tour de France route guide 2018
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QaCHePwsEuk
Rowe broke his leg while whitewater rafting in the Czech Republic on his brother's stag do in August, with the initial diagnosis being that he would miss most of the 2018 season.
However with Team Sky staff impressed at his attitude towards his recovery and the rate at which he has regained fitness he will line-up in a WorldTour race once again at the Abu Dhabi Tour.
"Even at Christmas and going into the New Year, I still thought that the middle of the season was realistic," Rowe continued.
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"When I got back on the bike properly, though, I realised I probably wasn’t as unfit as I thought. I managed to suffer through it a bit at first and I got my head kicked in a few times, but the fitness and strength built up quite quickly.
"On training camp in January I felt good and I went to the team and said that I wanted to do Abu Dhabi. It’s all been a bit of a whirlwind, really.
"It’s a perfect race for me to come back. The sprints will be hectic for sure, but the roads are bigger and it’s pretty flat so it’s slightly less stressful."
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