For Jasper Steiven, a late-March crash during a race in Doir door Hlaanderen signaled an untimely end to a promising spring classics season.

The Belgian, who had finished eighth in the Milano-Sanremo and second in the E3 Saxo Classic, was out of the race after suffering a broken collarbone and multiple abrasions in a group crash in the peloton.

Unlike fellow countryman Wout Van Aert, however, Stuvien was able to recover from his injuries in time to start the Giro d'Italia.

In a diary contributed to Het Laatste Nieuws, the Lidl-Trek star revealed his recovery process, from the initial surgery to heal a fracture, to tentatively riding his bike, to returning to training, and finally, to his recent confirmation that he would be able to go to Italy.

Steiven underwent surgery soon after the crash and abandoned in Douard on March 27. He wrote at the time that questions about recovering in time for the Giro Grande Partenza "make no sense."

"It makes no sense to ask after surgery if I can still ride the Giro. Doctors don't care about prognosis. Doctors don't care about prognosis, they only care about the patient's complete recovery. They stress that I should rest the affected muscles and not rush into rehabilitation.

In the days that followed, he visited his Lidl Trek Classic teammates on his way home -- "I think it's important to cross paths with my teammates and motivate them to do their best in the remaining classics" -- and received daily nursing care at home.

There was no quick comeback on the bike for Stuyven, who wrote five days after the crash that he would "leave the bike in storage for a while," and three days later, on April 6, he ran on the trainer for the first time.

"It's a total coincidence that today is exactly four weeks before the start of the Giro. The Giro is still a long way off," he wrote at the time, and the next day he endured "the toughest day of mental rehabilitation" as he missed Paris-Roubaix for the first time in his career.

April 17 was Stuyven's 32nd birthday, and after a hospital examination, he was given permission to "resume training if his muscles would allow it," which led to a five-hour trainer session.

The next day he returned to riding outdoors for a three-hour session, but Stuyven "felt sick to his stomach in reaction to the effort and lay in bed all afternoon." April 21, two weeks after the start of the Giro, was "a kind of D-Day" as he began to increase the intensity of his training to start in Italy.

April 24 brought more good news. After a phone call with the team doctor and director Gregory Rast, he was able to secure a selection slot for the Giro."

Two days later, another milestone was reached for Stuyven, who will support 2023 points jersey winner Jonathan Milan in the sprint next month.

On Monday, the Lidl-Trek team was announced, with Milan, former pink jersey holder Juan Pedro Lopez, Andrea Bagioli, Simone Consonni, Amanuel Gebreigxavier, Daan Houle, and Edward Zauns as the eight-member Jasper Stuyven was selected to return to the race.

"We have agreed with the team management not to expect much until the first rest day. The reality will not change. I am most fortunate to be able to start," Stuiven wrote in his last diary entry.

"From the second week, I want to be an important part of the sprinter Jonathan Milan and, moreover, I want to finish the Giro with a good feeling and in top condition to continue through the summer and into the fall."

"On Wednesday I will travel by train to Turin. During that trip I intend to study the road book.