Kurt-Asle Arvesen was relieved to finally get his first stage race in the bag for Team Sky at the Tirreno-Adriatico and is now looking to step up his return to full fitness at the upcoming semi-classics in Belgium.

The 35-year-old's season got off to the perfect start when he helped win the team time trial on the opening day of the Tour of Qatar, but his plans were thrown into turmoil the very next day when he broke his collarbone just a few miles after crossing the start line.

In the weeks that followed the Norwegian underwent surgery to rectify the problem and worked tirelessly to get himself back into race condition for Tirreno-Adriatico.

We caught up with Arvesen at his training base in northern Italy and it quickly became clear how pleased he was to be back in the saddle.

He said: "I'm really happy I was able to complete the race and it went exactly how I was hoping it would.

"I was bit nervous beforehand as the Tirreno-Adriatico is a big race and it was my first in many months, since Paris-Tours last October in fact, if you don't count the team time trial I did in the Tour of Qatar.

"It didn't help that we had really bad weather at the start and were cycling on some bad roads with slippery surfaces - there's always more crashes in those situations so I was wary about my injury.

"Everything improved as the week wore on though and the whole team really supported me. Obviously all the staff and riders knew about my situation so they didn't put any pressure on me. I was able to ride my own race. I finished every day in the gruppetto but there was no stress.

"Now I have some good race miles in the legs and I hope after this spell in Italy I will be ready for my next series of races in Belgium.

"I am feeling good and I am not having any pain at all in my collarbone. The bone has not completely healed yet but the muscles are getting back to normal around it and that means I've been able to concentrate on my legs and general race fitness."

Focused on Belgium

In the days that followed the Tirreno-Adriatico Arvesen took a few days out for rest and recuperation on the shores of Lake Garda, but is now back on his bike and focusing all his energies on being ready for Dwars door Vlaanderen on Wednesday.

"I started off doing some light recovery rides but this weekend I will do some motor pacing and a longer ride on Sunday.

"There's a big group of guys stationed up here so I'm able mix up my routine with solo rides, group rides and also the motor pacing.

"After the weekend I'll then be resting up to make sure I'm fresh for Wednesday."

After Dwars door Vlaanderen Arvesen will also be representing Team Sky at E3 Prijs Vlaanderen-Harelbeke on March 27 and also Gent-Wevelgem on March 28. Follow his progress right here at TeamSky.com.