Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig (FDJ-Suez) returns to racing at Durango-Durango on Tuesday after three months out of competition with a fractured sacrum.
The Danish star sustained her injury when she crashed out of Omloop Het Nieuwsblad on February 24, ruling her out of the remainder of the cobbled and Ardennes Classics and the first Grand Tour of the year, La Vuelta Femenina.
“WAIT, GUESS WHO’S BACK? Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig,” read a social media post from the team on Monday. “More than 3 months after her last race, she'll be taking the start tomorrow!
Uttrup Ludwig makes up part of a six-woman squad taking on the hilly Basque race with Evita Muzic, Jade Wiel, Nina Buijsman, Léa Curinier and Eugénie Duval.
The 1.1 Spanish one-day will take the riders in and around Durango, taking in laps of the Alto de Miota and Alto de Goiuria climbs on the 113km route. Uttrup Ludwig has twice finished on the podium in the race in 2021 and 2022.
Uttrup Ludwig will then head to the tough hilly Vuelta a Burgos WorldTour stage race from May 16-19.
“Plenty of reasons to smile at the moment. Besides enjoying my morning coffee in the sun,” said Uttrup Ludwig on social media last week.
“I’m happy to announce that I’ll finally be back in business racing my bike next week! I’ll be on the start line in Durango and Vuelta a Burgos.”
The rest of the 28-year-old’s racing calendar for 2024 hasn’t yet been announced but expect her to target both the Paris Olympics and Tour de France Femmes in August, where she has been a stage winner before in 2022.
Uttrup Ludwig got the 2024 season off to a flying start with a stage win at the Tour Down Under. In her absence, FDJ-Suez have been on flying form with Grace Brown taking a stunning win at Liège-Bastogne-Liège and Muzic reaching new heights at La Vuelta where she bested Demi Vollering (SD Worx-Protime) at the summit finish to La Laguna Negra.
