Fabio Aru: When the iliac artery problem was diagnosed, I cried
(Cyclingnews.com)

Fabio Aru has admitted that he cried due to the frustration and suffering of recent months and cried again last week when specialists finally diagnosed a constriction of the iliac artery as the reason why he was unable to race successfully. The UAE Team Emirates rider will soon undergo surgery and will miss the Giro d´Italia and much of the 2019 season but he was happy to have finally found an explanation why he was unable to perform at the level that allowed him to win the 2015 Vuelta a Espana. `There were days when I felt dead on the bike. I was devastated. I felt terrible and even worse because I didn´t know why,` Aru explained to La Gazzetta dello Sport after UAE Team Emirates confirmed Aru´s problem on Sunday.ADVERTISEMENT `The hair stands up on my arms as I talk about it but when the iliac artery problem was diagnosed, I cried. Only a few people know how much I´ve suffered. Despite total dedication I couldn´t get anywhere near my usual level. I wasn´t myself and so it was impossible to be happy. A tenth place in a race felt like a victory... but I don´t race to finish tenth.` Aru was due to ride this week´s Volta a Catalunya after abandoning Paris-Nice but he now faces several months out of action. Aru`s unexplained decline had sparked a huge debate in Italy about why the 28-year-old Sardinian rider had struggled to confirm his early Grand Tour potential. He is considered the natural heir to Vincenzo Nibali and one of the few riders capable of flying the flag for Italy at WorldTour level and especially in Grand Tours. Surgery ends the suffering You can read more at Cyclingnews.com