“I’m happy with the progress I’ve made to this point” - Chloe Dygert finishes sixth in season debut at the Classic Brugge-De Panne after injury setback

Having made her full return to competition in 2023 after a series of setbacks, which included her horror crash at the 2020 World Championships in Imola, an Epstein-Barr virus infection and undergoing heart surgery, Chloé Dygert came back to win the individual time trial at the World Championships in Glasgow.

However, another injury setback delayed her start to this season, as she was only able to begin her 2024 campaign on Thursday at the Classic Brugge-De Panne, where she finished an impressive sixth place in the sprint won by Elisa Balsamo.

Speaking to her Canyon//SRAM Racing team ahead of the race, the American rider was optimistic about her return to racing, as she said “I had a minor setback in December that delayed my start to racing in 2024. In the end, it was a hidden blessing. It’s given me a better lead into my major goals for the season”.

On her form going into the race, Dygert went on to say “I’m happy with the progress I’ve made to this point. I’m excited to pin a number on my back again. It’s always hard to determine your fitness level until you are actually competing. Right now, I’m grateful that I'm healthy and have the ability to race”.

After the race, Dygert reacted to her strong result in her comeback race, stating that “today was a hard day! I’m happy to get it under my belt and get used to being in a peloton again. I was in pretty good position going into the final 3km but without a strong leadout it’s so hard to not waste energy. I just spent too much energy trying to keep position and ended up sixth. I’m looking forward to improving every race”.