ONE of Britain and Yorkshire's top cyclists is on the road to recovery after a dreadful crash in March, but things are going better than expected and he is looking forward to supporting his team from the sidelines during this week's Tour de Yorkshire.

Burley-in-Wharfedale rider Scott Thwaites suffered potentially career-threatening injuries to his neck, spine, femur and sternum in the accident and he has gone through painstaking operations and training just to get to where he is now.

The 2018 Tour begins today and it is an event that Thwaites, who won the 2014 Commonwealth Games men's road race, would have loved to have been a part of, as tomorrow's route travels virtually past his front doorstep.

The men's tour is competed for over four days, with the Beverley-Doncaster stage today and the Barnsley-Ilkley route tomorrow. Saturday and Sunday's races go from Richmond-Scarborough and Halifax-Leeds respectively.

The women's event, which will take place today and tomorrow, was won last year by Otley-born star Lizzie Deignan but she will not be defending her crown due to her being pregnant with her first child.

Thwaites would have been a contender in the men's race too, having helped his Dimension Data team to overall victory last year, but with those two on the sidelines, the chances of a Yorkshire victory this time around look slim.

However, Thwaites knows that he is lucky to still have his career intact, and speaking last night, he was upbeat about his current situation, saying: "I'm feeling okay and I'm making progress. The rehab is going well.

"I don't want to push it too far. I'm on track at the moment and just taking it day by day.

"I'm doing a lot of easy exercises with exercise bands and balls just to maintain a bit of strength in the core and stability muscles.

"I can't do any heavy lifting because the fractures are still healing but I'm able to do a little bit of riding on the bike. I've done up to an hour so far."

Thwaites was cautious about putting a time frame on his return, admitting: "I've got a long way to go, with a lot more x-rays and scans to come.

"I haven't really got any races in mind because I don't want to set any goals that aren't achievable."

Thwaites admits that there may be physical changes to his riding style, saying: "I might have to adapt my position due to the spine operation that was done.

"But it shouldn't stop me returning to the level that I was at. We'll have to wait and see when things start healing up, how my body responds and what changes need to be made."