Victor Campenaerts will return to racing on Sunday at the Criterium du Dauphiné after an extended rehab for a vertebral fracture suffered in March's Breden Coxsayde Classic.

The Lotto Doustony rider had been out of racing for nearly three months after being injured in a multi-rider crash in the semi-classic. As a result, he was forced to miss most of the Spring Classics and has just now finally returned to the peloton for a week of stage racing.

Campenaerts will target the Belgian national championships later this month and possibly the Vuelta a España later in the season. However, next month's Tour de France is not an option.

He has recently been training at altitude in the Sierra Nevada and will head directly to France for his return to racing. He will head to the Dauphiné with the goal of finishing the race and supporting his teammates throughout the week.

"To be clear, I'm starting without ambition," Campenaerts told Het Nieuwsblad. 'But that's not true. To finish the race, that's my ambition, but besides that, my main goal is to help other athletes, like Maxime Van Gils.

"Before I left for the Sierra, I was able to cycle for two weeks at home. But my back was still playing tricks on me during that time. But I was in very poor condition because I hadn't been able to train for so long, so a few hours of cycling allowed me to improve my form. It is satisfying to realize that I am improving every day. Every day felt like a victory."

During his long recovery from the accident and back injury, he was bedridden and "fed up" with how he was spending his days. However, he received regular visits from his teammates and said that the way they had raced in his absence - attacking and finishing in the top 10 of the UCI rankings - had encouraged him during his absence from racing.

"After a few days in bed, I was incredibly disgusted with myself. "I was sitting in bed swiping through social media, and in the evening I realized I hadn't done anything meaningful all day. I deleted all my social media and started focusing on sports psychology literature, etc."

"Sometimes this was the sweet spot, where the five players would stop separately for coffee and cookies during training. Especially Florian Fermersch visited me the most."

"I was the first one to visit the team."

"The team was very friendly and helpful.

"It was motivating to see the willingness of the team riders. Not only did we race aggressively, but we scored a lot of points. We have to race well to not be the worst of the team and to not be left out of the selection process. [mixing stage races such as the Dauphiné and Tour de Wallonie with one-day races around Belgium.

The two weeks of high altitude racing following the Dauphiné before focusing on the Circuit Franco-Belge, the Sibiu Tour, and the possibility of the Vuelta a España.

"I hope to be able to run at a competitive level again. '' he said of Wallonie. Next up is Leuven, the Druyvenkors Oberlaise, and the Egmont Cycling Race. After that, the Benelux Tour and the Vuelta could be added.

Of the Tour de France, he said, "If my rehabilitation had gone faster than I wanted, it might have been a realistic goal. But then I would have been able to train at high altitude in Livigno."

"There is already an optimistic side to running the Dauphiné after four weeks of thorough training. Taking on the Tour afterwards didn't seem like a good idea for me or the team. If I can win a stage or a one-day race somewhere this year, my season will already be more than successful."

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