Originally Posted by
Hezz
I'm not absolutely certain, but I don't think anyone has made the podium after taking more than two years off of racing.
You have heard of WW I and WW II haven't you. Quite a few riders were 2 or more years out of cycling, including the top 2 Italian cyclists ever. Both of whom won the TDF after WW II. One of them spent close to if not more than 2 years in a POW camp in North Africa.