Bakelants is in bits and has installed this hospital bed at home. He has also recalled the horror story of his rescue from the ravine, saying the rescue could have killed him.

Moto ran over Bakelants legs after Lombardy ravine crash

Jan Bakelants has complained of being man handled out of the ravine he crashed into at the Tour of Lombardy.

Despite realising himself that his injuries could have easily proven fatal, he said those who got him out were not careful enough.

And at one point a moto even went over his legs when he had been lifted back to road level.

He was diagnosed seven rib fractures, as well as the fractures of two dorsal vertebrae (D8, D10) and two lumbar vertebrae (L1 and L3), which required placing him in intensive care.

The Belgian remained in hospital in Italy for a week and was only transferred to Belgium last weekend. He has since undergone surgery to stabilise his back.

"I try to think about it as little as possible," Bakelants told Sporza. "I fell six or seven metres deep and landed on my back on a rock.

“I don't know exactly how everything happened. I came to the curve where De Plus had already fallen, just behind the favourites group.

“I think someone stopped because Laurens had fallen but then I just remember that I flew over the guardrail and fell down.

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"I immediately realised that it was serious. I felt I could not sit upright but I could still move my legs and that gave me a comforting feeling.

“I was very well mentally but I realised that what other people were doing was unorthodox.

“I understand that these were not the easiest conditions to work in but they were not gentle.

“When you have to take someone out of those bushes, you know that still, anything can happen. The smallest movement can be fatal with such a back injury.

"I can say that I was lucky that nothing too serious happened after my fall because all the conditions were there to make it worse.

"When I was on the asphalt again, someone with a motorcycle wanted to pass. The man did not have control of the situation.

"He thought he had put the vehicle in neutral, but it suddenly moved to the front and rode over my leg.

“It is crazy that something like that can happen at the WorldTour level. And afterwards, I didn't even get an apology."

Bakelants has now had his back surgery and will wait for the results.

"In a month new scans will be taken and the doctors will be able to tell if that vertebra has reconnected. Doctors are confident, but they can't give a 100 per cent guarantee.

"Now we are hoping that my body will do the necessary. Only when that happens, I can start planning to come back to my old self again.

“I'm glad I got a chance to make a return. I've realised that I escaped the worst by just millimetres."