Life balance challenges for champion cyclist and new mom, Chantal van den Broek-Blaak

Chantal van den Broek-Blaak will go to a training camp with SD Worx next week for the first time since becoming a mother, but it is difficult for the cyclist to leave her child behind.

On May 24, Van den Broek-Blaak gave birth to her first child, Noa. "Time has flown by in the last six months. We enjoy every moment with our little girl. Every day brings surprises and happiness," said the 2017 world champion on her Instagram. "We are slowly finding our rhythm again. My husband is back at work and I'm training again. It really is a team effort."

"I needed time to recover from my pregnancy, physically and mentally. And I'm not there yet," Van den Broek-Blaak admits. "Being a mother is the best thing in your life. But letting Noa go and entrusting her to others is much more difficult than I thought. Even though I know they are with loving people."

"Staying fit and healthy is also a challenge. I have never been so sick as I have been in the past three months. It feels like I've already had every baby virus," she laughs, just before her return to SD Worx. "Next week I will go back to my first training camp with the team. It will be the first time for me without Noa. I know it will be a challenge, but I am also looking forward to it."