A flying run in 2024, when the podiums just kept rolling, proved just what a formidable rider Neve Bradbury (Canyon-SRAM zondacrypto) could be, however as the following seasons progressed the top results seemed harder to come by.
That breakthrough 2024 season had included a Giro d'Italia stage win and third overall, plus second on GC at the UAE Tour and Tour de Suisse, as well as third at the Tour Down Under and silver in the U23 road race at the World Championships, but then the run of podiums all but dried up. A third at the Australian championships road race at the start of this year has been the only top 3 since that breakthrough season.
Even as the Vuelta Feminina last week looked to be heading into terrain that suited the talented climber she wasn't riding up the results table, but was instead a DNF.
"It’s been a tough period of racing while searching for answers, but I finally have surgery booked next week for iliac artery endofibrosis," said Bradbury in an Instagram post.
There have been a number of riders in the women's peloton that have had Iliac artery surgery and made successful returns right from Annemiek van Vleuten, Pauline Ferrand-Prevot, and Marianne Vos to Shirin van Anrooij and fellow Australian Sarah Gigante.
Times off the bike have varied, and while Bradbury didn't put any specifics on her expectations. The issue which compromises blood flow during peak physical exertion, means many months without pinning on a number, so patience is required.
However, the 24-year-old who proved her climbing prowess on none other than the Blockhaus stage of the Giro d'Italia, has been racing with Canyon-SRAM since 2021 after starting out in the professional peloton as an 18-year-old and she is locked in with a contract through to the end of 2027. That means she has a familiar team environment in place for the return and rebuild, even if the recovery stretches through the current season.
"A long road ahead, but I’ll be back," said the 24-year-old.
