Guillaume Boivin of Longueuil, Que., is letting his results describe his comeback story.
Numbers capture better than words that Boivin is in shape to pedal again after nursing a knee injury that affected him for most the 2011 season.
Boivin sprinted to second place in the pack -- and is in a position to challenge for a medal with only two more races to go -- in Friday's second stage at the 2012 Tour Méditerranéen. He'd placed in the top five for the opening leg.
The unseasonable cold temperatures in the southern France made for challenging race conditions in Provence on the 136-km leg from Salon de Provence to Martigues.
"My legs feel really good here. I'm happy with my condition and I didn't expect to be going quite this good right now," Boivin said. "Today in the final kilometers, the Garmin-Barracuda guys played the finish very well. They were impressive and deserved the win."
Wordless communication among veterans played an important role, Boivin said.
"I really have to thank my team-mate Pat McCarty. He did an amazing job keeping my in position in the final 30km. He's such a savvy rider and it counts for so much in racing... He understands how the bunch flows and knows exactly where to put me without us needing to talk a lot," said Boivin.
He's experienced international success before. Boivin won the bronze medal in the road race at the 2010 UCI World Championships in Australia.
Friday's race, before the scenic backdrop of the town Cote-de-Baux, took place in strong winds which led to a few accidents.
With the podium result in the stage race, Boivin moves up to the fourth place over all for the 4-stage event. In the Young Rider (under-23) classification, Boivin sits in second place behind Michael Kreder of Team Garmin-Barracuda who won Thursday's second stage.
"Over-all as a team, we are getting better day by day here and all the guys are pumped for the racing to come. Tomorrow should be another good chance for a sprint and we'll focus on tweaking our approach so we improve ... by just one more place, I hope."
The entire length of the race is 525 km and the current leader is Yauheni Hutarovich if Belarus, who was third in Friday's leg. That 136-km segment was won by Netherlander Michel Kreder (3 hours 10 minutes 40 seconds). Boivin was placed second in the leg with the same time as Kreder.