Harrison's Grand Tour dream

Torbay’s WorldTour cycling pro Harrison Wood still has his sights set on a first ‘Grand Tour’ ride in the Giro d’Italia after completing a tough comeback from illness at the weekend.

Wood, 23, covered nearly 225 miles of racing in 24 hours, finishing the Faun Ardeche Classic and the Faun Drome Classic in southern France in the colours of his Cofidis team.

“They were two very hard races, but I’m happy to have got round, and that gives me some confidence for what’s ahead,” he said.

It followed an enforced absence of nearly three weeks as the former Mid-Devon CC rider recovered from a bout of flu which included a chest infection.

Cofidis, who want him to ride at least one of the Grand Tours this year, are sticking to their build-up plan. He is due to race in Italy’s Trofeo Laigueglia (125mls) today (Wed) before heading to Tenerife for a block of high-altitude training with several members of Cofidis’ intended Giro team.

If Wood does start the Giro (May 4), he will become only the third MDCC rider to race a Grand Tour, after the late Colin Lewis and Jeremy Hunt, and the first since Hunt finished the Tour de France 14 years ago.