Maxim Van Gils is a notable absentee from the Ardennes Classics this week, the Belgian puncheur still recovering from a fractured pelvis and shoulder sustained in a crash at the Clásica Jaén in February. Van Gils was one of the stars of the spring two years ago, taking podiums at Strade Bianche and La Flèche Wallonne , plus a fourth place at Liège-Bastogne-Liège and seventh at Milan-San Remo. Article continues below "It's going well, but I'm still way behind. I had to go without a bike for a good five weeks – that’s like starting to cycle again in November," he said. "If I train for longer than four hours now, I’m completely exhausted. But it is getting better step by step. My pelvis doesn’t really bother me anymore. Only my shoulder still aches a bit when I cycle for a long time." Van Gils went down hard in the final metres of the Clásica Jaén in the sprint for second place, with Jan Christen sweeping across the road and taking him out .…