Surgery to put a plate in the clavicle of the big Swede, has lead to him bouncing back much quicker than expected. With the Slipstream Team based in Girona, Backstedt will now finish off the build up for his racing return with a training camp in Spain.

Sunday saw another positive step with him completing a 2 hour road ride with no pain from the plate. "Everything is going amazingly well" He told Roadcycling.com "I did two hours on the road on Sunday with no problem and as usual the biggest problem is holding me back"

After only 3 days he had been back on the indoor trainer and it seems like the recovery has all gone to plan "I have just built it up slowly, I was out of the sling in days and now my only problem is that my bib short straps sit on the plate which is numb and has no feeling, but hey if thats the only fall out already, then I'll gladly take it!"

Backstedt will hook up in Girona with team mate Mike 'Meatball' Friedman, one rider who along with Julian Dean and Chris Sutton, he has already tipped as a top support man for the 2008 Paris-Roubaix in April.

"The support from my team has been amazing, from the bosses, my team mates and just everyone involved. I'm looking forward to hanging out with them all and getting some miles in." he concluded.