Chloé Dygert unstoppable in Worlds time trial: 'It's been a long three years'
Amer♔ican shrugs off injury, illness and day-of-race cold to claim rainbow jersey three years afte𒈔r Imola crash

American 168澳洲5最新开奖结果:Chloé Dygert wasn't sure she would be racing in 2023. On the day of the 168澳洲5最新开奖结果:UCI Road World Championships elite women's time trial, she wasn't sure she'd even be racing on the day. Overcoming 168澳洲5最新开奖结果:serious injuries, ailments and uncertainty, she finally 168澳洲5最新开奖结果:reclaimed the rainbow jersey she was unable to defend in Imola in 2020.
After taking a stunning victory in Yorkshire over Anna van der Breggen and Annemiek van Vleuten, the COVID-19 pandemic brought racing to a halt, and Dygert never raced in the rainbow bands. Then, during her title defence at Worlds in 2020, she 168澳洲5最新开奖结果:suffe🌞red a dramatic crash on𓆉 a descent where the metal crashꩲ barrier sliced through her thigh.
Since then, she's been through a litany of health ꦍissues. In her post-race press conference, Dygert summed it up: "It's been a long three years."
In addition to her leg injury, Dygert has overcome 168澳洲5最新开奖结果:Epstein Barr virus, long-standing back problems, and, until this year, ha𝔉d year totals of r🍰ace days in the single digits. Even at the start of the year, she revealed, she wasn't sure she could race the 2023 road season.
"I think this is a very special title for everyone behind me. At the beginning of this year, it was unclear if I was going to race this season. To be able to be he꧅re and win ♌- it's a huge accomplishment for everybody that's been behind me.
"In November, I had my 168澳洲5最新开奖结果:heart surgery; one month later, I got sick fo🥃r four weeks, and then I had a crash at team camp and tore a muscle in my bad leg. I technically didn't start training until March."
Her lack of preparation scarcely showed on Thursday in Stirling, Scotland, where she powered over the 36.2-kilometre course and up the steep cobbled climb to the line six seconds quicker than Australia's ๊Grace Brown.
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In doing so, she became the first woman 🌃to win the individual pursuit and t𝄹he individual time trial in the same season.
After 168澳洲5最新开奖🔯结果:racing to an individual pursuit gold medal last week, Dygert fell ill and⭕ revealed that she was sick enough that the team considered having her sit out the time trial.
"The decision was going to be made this morning if I was going to start. If the race was yesterday, I don't think I could have started, It was a huge benefit for me this morning when I woke up, and I was able to smell a little bit. So then I got on ☂the trainer and rode for 30 minutes, and my legs felt decent."
S⛦he said she had mentally🎐 prepared not to start, not knowing how her body would respond to such a brutal effort.
The ꧙effects of her illness showed in her 🐟post-race interviews - she was coughing, sniffling, and had a cold sore - and said that she struggled during the race.
"It was definitely 16km too long. After a certain point, I couldn't catch up with my breathing and the fatigue set in. I just did everything I could to make it t𒅌o the finish. I'm really lucky it was enou😼gh."
Dygert is also due to lead her USA team in Sunday's elite women's road race but said that h💃er starting that is also not certain.
"Today was the goal for me, and if I'm not feeling 100% for the road race, I don't want to take that away from the team. But if I am feeling well, i♐t's going to be a good race; it's going to be hard.
"I will make the decision in the next day or two to see how I'm feeling and recovering. But if I am feeling well, I'm really looking forward to it. Wඣe have a really strong team going into it."

Laura Weislo has been with Cyclingnews since 2006 after making a switch from a career in science. As Managing Editor, she coordinates coverage for North American events and global news. As form𝔉er elite-level road racer who dabbled in cyclo-cross and track, Laura has a passion for all three disciplines. When not working she likes to go camping and explore lesser traveled roads, paths and gravel tracks. Laura specialises in covering doping, anti-doping, UCI governance and performing data analysis.