Chloe Dygert makes comeback to racing at La Vuelta: “I am so happy to be racing again”

Canyon//SRAM has announced the roster for La Vuelta Femenina (May 1-7). One name stands out more than others: Chloé Dygert. The 26-year-old American, who has been plagued by physical problems in recent years, rode her last road race for the German formation at the beginning of last year.

“I am incredibly grateful for the fact that I can pin number on my back again. I definitely need to work on my fitness, but I'm so happy to be racing again. I will do everything I can to help the team win. The Vuelta is also an important race for me in the run-up to my main goals," the 26-year-old American said in a press release.

Dygert seemed ready to conquer the cycling world in 2019. That year she became world champion in indiviual time trial in rather impressive way, but a year later things went wrong during the 2020 World Championship time trial. She seemed to be on her way to successfully defend her title in Imola, until she crashed very hard and hit a guardrail. After a long rehabilitation, she was able to get back on bike, but her body let her down more than once.

She had to deal with the Epstein-Barr virus in 2022, which put her out of action for a long time. As a result, Dygert only rode one race on the road in 2022. At the end of that season she underwent surgery, with the aim of being completely pain-free again in 2023. And it didn't stop there: she was also (successfully) treated for cardiac arrhythmias at the end of 2022.