Chloé Dygert to miss road and track world championships due to leg injury
Dygert will miss the remainder of 2021 due to lingering problems with the injury sustained at last year's road world championships.
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Chloé Dygert will end her season early and miss the road and track world championships.
Dygert has missed much of the season as she has been recovering from a serious leg injury she picked up at the 2020 road worlds. The 24-year-old lost control of her bike and slid out on a corner while on course to take time trial gold, suffering a deep laceration to her left leg.
Also read: Tokyo Olympics gallery: USA rides to bronze medal in women’s Team Pursuit
She returned to racing in June to take part in the U.S national time trial, which she won, before heading to the Olympic Games in Tokyo last month.
Dygert looked in a lot of discomfort as she rode the time trial event, where she finished seventh at more than two minutes behind the gold medalist Annemiek van Vleuten. However, she helped the USA to bronze and a new national record in the Team Pursuit on the track the following week.
Dygert was due to start racing on the road with Canyon-SRAM following the Olympic Games after signing a four-year deal with the team earlier this year. The German-registered squad confirmed Tuesday that she would call time on her season with immediate effect without taking part in the road worlds in September or the track worlds in October.
No road or track world championships for Chloé Dygert as a result of her continuing rehabilitation from her left leg injury. A decision was made to end her season early to focus on 2022.
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— CANYON//SRAM Racing (@WMNcycling) August 31, 2021
“In only my second ride back after the Olympics I had a lot of pain in my leg after 500 meters and after 30 minutes I turned around and went home,” Dygert said.
“After this, I knew that I couldn’t train and prepare at my best for these next races. To race at 100 percent and lose because you were beaten by someone faster or simply better, that’s one thing. To be on the start line at 80 percent and feeling like you’re letting yourself or your teammates down, that’s another.”
Also read: Tokyo Olympics: How Team USA rebuilt the women’s Team Pursuit squad for 2021
Dygert spent a week in hospital after the crash and has been undergoing extensive rehab ever since. She will now not race in Canyon-SRAM colors until the 2022 season.
Following the news that her season would end after just five race days, Dygert posted on Instagram for the first time in about eight months with a picture of her and her bronze medal.
“This past year has been filled with so many trials from my injury. Learning to accept this healing process has been one of the hardest tests of my life,” she wrote in the picture caption. “I am so incredibly grateful for my support team.
“Getting to the Olympics to represent my country and colors was my goal and we got there together. Now I am going to take the time I need to properly heal and look ahead to the rest of my career. I will see you next year.”