Australian cyclist Jay Vine has been cleared to return to “gentle” training seven weeks after suffering spinal injuries in a high-speed crash.

The 28-year-old was one of several riders, including Denmark’s reigning Tour de France champion Jonas Vingegaard, involved in the incident at the Itzulia Basque Country stage race on 4 April.

The UAE Team Emirates rider spent nine days in hospital before being transferred to his home in Andorra.

It was initially feared he would be paralysed from the accident but, upon his return to Andorra, Vine said he could not believe he would “still be able to walk and play with my kids”.

“Jay still has several weeks of focused rehabilitation to achieve. But this is the first big step in seven weeks, which is good from a mental and physical perspective for him,” team doctor Adrian Rotunno said.

“The spine is now stable enough to start with easy gentle outdoor rides with the aim of improving posture on the bike, and is key in preventing neuromuscular atrophy.”

Two-time Tour de France winner Vingegaard broke his collarbone and several ribs, while race leader Primoz Roglic and fellow Grand Tour winner Remco Evenepoel were also forced to abandon the race following the April crash.

Vingegaard has been training in Mallorca and his Visma team coach says he is recovering well.

Belgian Evenepoel of Soudal-QuickStep and Slovenian Roglic of Bora have been training for weeks and are aiming to be fit for the start of the Tour de France on 29 June in Florence.