The long wait is finally over for Chloe Dygert as the North American star was confirmed by her Canyon-SRAM team to be returning to road racing next Monday at La Vuelta Femenina.
The former World Time Trial Champion and seven-time World Track Champion is back after a 14-month break from road racing due to a variety of health issues.
Dygert recently took part in the UCI Track World Cup in Milton with the US National team, having returned to track racing last November in Colorado Springs for the first time in ten months. But La Vuelta Feminina will be the 26-year-old’s first road event since the Omloop Het Nieuwsblad in February 2022.
She is expected to play a key role in Monday’s opening 14.5-kilometre team time trial in Torrevieja in SE Spain.
“Some setbacks in my winter training blocks derailed my early season plans. I would say I’ve had more spring training than winter training in preparation for this season,” Dygert said in a Canyon-SRAM press release, adding that she was “happy to be healthy and fit enough” to take part in the race.
“I’m grateful to have been able to pin a number on my back again at last weekend’s track world Cup. I can say I am finally 100% healthy, just a few aches and pains here and there. I haven’t been this healthy in three years. I still have to work on my fitness, but I am just so happy to be back racing.”
“It’s my second race with the team, and I’m feeling excited. The TTT is always fun and will be a great way to start the tour. As for my goals, I’m here to be the best teammate possible.”
Dygert’s start in La Vuelta Femenina comes after a major crash in the 2020 World Championships while defending her 2019 TT title, when she hit a guardrail and badly injured her knee, needing nine months off the bike.
She began racing with Canyon-SRAM in 2022, but contracted Epstein Barr virus, then had a second operation on her leg. Then in November 2022, she had heart surgery to treat a longstanding tachycardia issue.
In other La Vuelta Femenina team roster news, Spanish squad Movistar confirmed, as expected, that the double defending champion Annemiek van Vleuten will be headlining their squad for their top home race. German National Champion Liane Lipper and Emma Norsgaard, back in action after her Strade Bianche injury, are also named in their lineup.
Movistar line-up for 2023 La Vuelta Femenina by Carrefour:
Annemiek van Vleuten (NED); Liane Lippert (GER); Emma Norsgaard (DEN); Lourdes Oyarbide (SPA); Floortje Mackaij (NED); Aude Biannic (FRA); Paula Patiño (COL).
Canyon-SRAM line-up for 2023 La Vuelta Femenina by Carrefour:
Ricarda Bauernfeind (GER); Elise Chabbey (SWI); Chloé Dygert (USA); Kasia Niewiadoma (POL); Pauliena Rooijakkers (NED); Agnieszka Skalniak-Sójka (POL); Alice Towers (UK).
