Rabat to decide on Friday if he’s fit to race at home

The Blusens-STX teams arrives at the Gran Premi de Catalunya, the home race for the Cardedeu team, in difficult circumstances as Tito Rabat does not know for sure whether he can eventually participate in the race. Having been operated on nearly three weeks ago on the little finger he injured in Le Mans, a surgery in which a skingraft was applied to the damaged area and which kept him sidelined since then, Rabat now has the permission of Dr. Mir to test on Friday and see what his feeling is like aboard the FTR and then decide whether to take part in the rest of the GP. The Spaniard has a huge desire to run in front of his home crowd and fans and it would be a big disappointment for him not to do so, but caution should prevail in a decision taken jointly with team officials and, in all likelihood, with his physician from the Dexeus clinic.

TITO RABAT: “I’ve spent these last two weeks with absolute rest and without any physical effort, because the finger is fine but the graft is very recent and I can not sweat, because there is a risk of infection and that would be fatal because the injury could get very complicated. They have yet to cure me completely and I must be very careful. I lack a bit of mobility but this is normal because only a fortnight ago I had surgery. Yesterday I saw Dr. Mir and he gave me permission to ride, but it depends on my feeling and I have to wait for Friday to see if I can actually take part in this GP. I will take advantage of the first practice to see how I am and see if I can compete, because every time I get off the FTR they need to treat me.
I had three weeks without getting on a bike and I’m also a little weak because of the physical inactivity and the antibiotics I am taking, I have a bit of an upset stomach and I’m not sure how it will respond. Furthermore, the finger is not 100% and a crash could be have serious consequences. But as I said, on Friday we will try and decide with the team what’s best to do. It would be unwise to take a risk because there are many races in a row now and rushing things is never good. In case I’ll eventually not be able to participate in this GP it would be a huge disappointment, because it is the home race for both the team and for me and I am very excited to ride here, but I need to be smart and take the right decision because although it is only a finger it could set of a lot of complications.”