Paris 2024: Dutch star Ellen van Dijk facing 'biggest challenge of my career' to be fit in time for Olympics
/dnl.eurosport.com/sd/img/placeholder/eurosport_logo_1x1.png){kind=logo}
Published 20/06/2024 at 18:08 GMT
With just a month until the time trial in Paris takes place, Ellen van Dijk admits that while she is still unable to "train fully", she has not given up on her "dream" of representing Netherlands at the 2024 Olympic Games. The Lidl-Trek star feels it was a "small miracle" her injuries were not more severe and accepts that she now faces the "biggest challenge" of her career to be fit in time.
Highlights: Vollering proves too strong once more with Stage 4 win, triumphs overall
Ellen van Dijk believes that competing at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games is “certainly possible” but admits it was a “small miracle” that the injury she sustained in a crash was not more severe.
The Dutch star’s participation in Paris was plunged into doubt when she suffered a crash in training at the beginning of June.
Van Dijk - who required surgery on her ankle - now admits she is facing the “biggest challenge of my career” to recover in time to make the start line of the time trial on July 27 in France.
An Olympic medal has so far proved elusive for the 37-year-old in what has been a hugely successful career.
“To be honest, the last two weeks haven’t been easy for me,” she wrote in an Instagram post. "On the 3rd of June, I crashed during a training ride on my TT bike. I hit a small trailer at full speed. After all, the only serious injury was my broken ankle.
“That was actually a small miracle, it could have been so much worse. But I needed surgery and I couldn’t ride my bike for a while.
"The surgery went well and since day one I’m in full focus to get in shape for the Olympics.
"Of course, this is a huge setback, but I won’t give up. With the best specialists on my side I will do everything I can to pull this off. It will be the biggest challenge of my career."
Van Dijk may have just over a month to fully recover, and while she is aware of the difficult journey ahead for her, the Lidl-Trek star is refusing to give up on her dream of competing at the Olympics.
“In my mind, it is certainly possible. But I can't train fully yet. I won't know for sure until about three weeks from now, Van Dijk told the In Het Wiel podcast.
“I saw during my pregnancy how quickly everything came back. This is a completely different situation, but I gain a lot of hope and confidence from it.
"I don't know yet whether my dream is shattered. I have already decided: this is the biggest challenge in my career.
“My only focus is to recover as quickly as possible and get back to standard as quickly as possible. Of course, it's not ideal, but the situation is what it is. I'm just trying to get to Paris in the best possible way.”
Van Dijk’s Lidl-Trek team-mate Elisa Balsamo is also facing a battle to be fit in time for Paris after she was involved in a crash at La Vuelta in May, in which the Italian broke her nasal bone and second metacarpal.
--
discovery+ is the streaming home of the Olympic Games, and the only place you can watch every moment of Paris 2024 this summer
Scan me
Related Topics
Share this article
Advertisement
Advertisement