Forced into retirement after suffering cardio-respiratory arrest just over a year ago, former Paris-Roubaix champion Sonny Colbrelli told AFP on Saturday he felt very lucky to be alive.
The 32-year-old returned to the scene of his 2021 triumph where, covered in mud, he celebrated wildly after one of the wettest Paris-Roubaix races on record.
On Saturday, the Italian was overcome with emotion when crowds at the team presentation and afternoon gala reserved the biggest cheer and an ovation for him.
"It's so good to be back in France and for this Paris-Roubaix two years after my win," Colbrelli told AFP before Sunday's race in northern France.
Now eight kilos heavier, Colbrelli's role is more that of an ambassador and to support his former Bahrain teammates.
"I miss the racing and I miss the life of a racer, but at least I'm alive," said the rider whose career changed dramatically at the Tour of Catalunya in March 2022.
In the best form of his life, Colbrelli was sprinting uphill to the finish line when he collapsed and suffered spasmodic convulsions.
First aid staff revived him at the finish line thanks to emergency cardiac resuscitation and a defibrillator.
After recovering, the racer had a pacemaker fitted, making him ineligible by Italian law to take part in professional sport.
And in October 2022 he announced he would retire from cycling.
"My health is the most important thing of course," he told AFP, insisting he still intended to pursue a career in the sport.
"I'm staying in cycling working with my team as an ambassador and as sports director for the (one-day race) classics," he said.
But he lights up when asked about his win two years ago.
"I don't know anymore, it's difficult to explain what happened," he said.
"For me it's the very best race, it was my dream and I did it."
"In my opinion, you have to race with your team, this is the most important thing if you want to win Paris-Roubaix and that's what I tell Matej (Mohoric)," he said of the Slovenian rider who will lead the Bahrain Victorious team in Sunday's cobbled classic.
Colbrelli won Paris-Roubaix a few weeks after claiming the European title in 2021 and had a total of 34 race wins over his career.