Every race is a new adventure for a first-year pro, but for Jarrad Drizners, the first few days at the Tour de Pollogne this August must have felt far more exceptional.

Six months ago, the Lotto Soudal rider was only a few weeks into his rookie season when he was involved in a terrible crash on the second last day of the UAE Tour that left him with a badly lacerated liver and in danger of losing his life.

His return to racing was not straightforward, and a few weeks after the crash, he suffered a short but serious setback in his recovery process, requiring additional surgery. In total, he was off the bike for up to two months to recover.

However, Drizner never strayed from his goal of returning to professional racing, and he returned to the game at the Tour de Pollogne, even if much of his professional rookie season was spent under less than ideal circumstances.

"Obviously it takes a little time to get used to after being away for such a long time. But it's great to be back with the team and back in the environment and I like it a lot," Drizners told Cycling News at the start of the third stage.

"The first two sprint stages were a good introduction to get a sense of being back in the group. I had a lot of time to train and prepare, but it was a long road back because I had been training at full capacity for three months.

Getting back into the race after such a dramatic experience was never easy, but the Drizners are acting as upbeat as possible.

"Everything happens for a reason. We've had our struggles, but we're taking the positives from what we can."

The former U23 Australian national champion said his team always provided a "great" level of support from the moment of the crash to witnessing Pollogne.

"The whole organization was phenomenal. I worked with the physiotherapist in Nice, and in Dubai the team gave me full support." I can't identify any individuals.

On top of that, his mother flew to Dubai to be with him during his recovery. Without her support, I would not have made it through."

So where do you go from Pollonia? Rather than setting specific goals, the Drizners said they are taking it "one race at a time."

"When we are done here [in Pollogne], we will re-evaluate and look at the rest of the season. Hopefully we can get back on the sprint train for Caleb (Yuan).

In any case, the important thing is that he can race again. Training at his new base in France is going well, he says, and after being cleared by his doctor to race again three months ago, "everything has been fine since then."

Sure, he broke his nose in the crash and hurt his finger. But it is conclusive that his body as a whole survived the crash.

"I've had numerous tests and scans, and everyone has given me the OK.