Chloe Dygert finally pain-free after horrific leg injuries: "And I couldn’t be happier"

Chloe Dygert has crashed at the 2020 World Championships time-trial, but her recovery from the long-term injuries she's suffered is going good, and the American rider reports more significant improvements.

“I’ve been looking forward to it. I was on the track at the beginning of the year in January when we first tested the Canyon, so this will be the first time back on the bike on the track since then. The leg is great. The past surgery made the difference,” she told VeloNews.

Ever since her crash, which left her with a large laceration in her left leg, she has had a very long battle to regain full strength and balance of it, and begin to return to her racing level. “I don’t have pain and the little things, like I had pain when standing up, getting in and out of the car, just from everyday life.

"I was in pain, and I thought that’s how my life was going to be, but this past surgery took it all away. I’m pain-free, and I couldn’t be happier," she continued. She won the 2021 time-trial national championships and finished 7th at the Olympic Games, however in 2022 she's only had one race day on the road, finishing 26th at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad.

Dygert has this week done her first track session in a very long time, and is hoping to qualify to the 2024 Olympic Games. “I think how qualifications work for the Olympics is that there are three World Cups for the track and they take the best two out of the three. So we’re going to focus on two that I’m going to go to, and then I’ll spend the rest of the year focusing on the road but also on the time trial," she said.

“It’s been about two years in which I’ve not been able to do the things that I’ve wanted to do but again it’s out of my control. I can sit here, complain and be a baby about it but that’s not going to change anything," Dygert said. This is a very big step towards her return to normal level, and with a long contract with Canyon//SRAM Racing she will be looking to return to her winning ways.

“All I have to do is look forward and do all the right things to make sure that when I am on the bike all the work that I’ve done over the last few years is not for nothing. I’m working really hard on and off the bike, in every possible way to make sure that next year is going to be a good one," she concluded.