The Goodshop-Yoyogurt team is celebrating the return to competitive racing of Edoardo Laino, 24 years old, from Reano in Turin. Yesterday "Edo" Laino participated in the Elite and Under 23 race in San Nazzaro de Burgundi, in the Pavia plains. The Goodshop-Yoyogurt team also won the race thanks to Nicolas Frigo, a rider with a cycling pedigree.

On June 23rd, while training on the descent from Sestriere to the San Sicario junction, Edoardo was hit by a car that failed to give him the right of way. The Goodshop-Yoyogurt rider found himself on the ground with multiple fractures. In the impact, Edo broke his fibula, malleolus and tibia of his left leg, plus his pelvis, acetabulum and 3 ribs. The Turin native reacted magnificently, even attempting to improve his athletic condition while still using crutches. At the Briga Novarese race on August 6th and at other Elite and Under 23 competitions, including the Gran Premio di Carnago (August 29th), he participated with crutches to support his teammates. He took to the stage with them at the team presentation.

"Edoardo faced the rehabilitation period with remarkable determination – declares his father Daniele Laino, entrepreneur and general manager of the Goodshop Yoyogurt team – which stems from his enormous love for cycling. He tried to walk with crutches for 7 kilometers in Reano without ever putting weight on his left foot, to avoid complications. Certainly the desire to recover accelerated both the rehabilitation phase and training. At San Nazzaro de Burgundi we won twice. One victory thanks to Nicolas Frigo, 1st at the finish line, and the other for Edo's return to competition just 3 months after the terrible impact".

Now Edoardo is in high spirits: "After just one week of bike training, I managed to complete the San Nazzaro race without any problems. I'm experiencing indescribable sensations: I've returned to doing what I love most after what happened to me, after just 3 months. For me, this is the most beautiful victory of all. I worked very hard, but I saw it through, with heart and determination. I'm extremely happy".

In sports in general, not just cycling, it's extremely difficult to find someone who has recovered from such varied fractures, including those to the tibia and fibula, and returned to competition just 90 days after the accident. On October 18th, 1995, at the end of the Milan-Turin race, Marco Pantani, Francesco Secchiari and Davide Dall'Olio crashed into a pickup truck that had carelessly entered the race course at Pino Torinese. The "Pirate" Pantani broke his tibia and fibula. He returned to racing at the Misano Adriatico circuit on July 31st, 1996, then on August 3rd he participated in the Cepagatti race (Criterium Gran Premio d'Europa) in Abruzzo and on August 4th in the Trofeo Matteotti. It's not appropriate to compare what happened to Marco with Edoardo Laino's accident, as the injuries probably had different dynamics and recovery challenges. However, Laino returned to competition in 3 months while the Pirate took more than 8 months. Subsequently, Pantani went on to fly: let's hope Edoardo does the same.