Michael Valgren slowly returns to his best level. Almost a year after an almost career-ending crash at La Route d'Occitanie, the Dane resumed racing in April back from his hip and leg injuries. Over the 2023 season he took on 41 race days and hopes to be back to top level in 2024.
"The first six months were shit. I made almost no progress, it was a nightmare. In the first six months I had a lot of doubts. I talked a lot with my family, which kept me working hard and why I am here now," Valgren told In de Leiderstrui. "After the national championships I took a short break, back to the family in Denmark. I worked on my form there and in the Giro della Toscana I felt that I belonged again. The Tour de Langkawi was a bit of a strange race, but I had the same feeling there too."
He and team manager Charles Wegelius talked about what was a lengthy and very difficult recovery. However, one that looks to be successful. Valgren has finished in the Top10 of the queen stage of the Tour of Denmark, Coppa Sabatini and the end-of-season Japan Cup. The hilly races saw Valgren at a competitive level, and he believes that his injuries no longer hinder him: "I feel good and I would almost say that there is no difference anymore from how I felt before my crash. I am back at my best level and that is mentally very nice."
"In the year and a half that I was away, the level in the peloton has risen, but I am getting there. I continued to train to compete in races such as the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix again," he says, two of his biggest goals. "It's not nice that I haven't done them in two years. I'm really looking forward to racing at the highest level again, that's where I got my motivation. I'm only 31, so I still have some good years ahead of me. I'm happy to be back on level and then 2024 will be a new season."
In a year where the riders take on the Olympic Games, he hopes to be of use for the country but also looks to surge to a high level such as compatriots as Jonas Vingegaard and Mads Pedersen have. "It's great for Danish cycling. The disadvantage is that when I ride in the top ten somewhere, it is no longer even very good, while I can be very happy with it."
"They keep winning and that is what Danish cycling needs to keep growing. The youth must continue cycling, so I am happy for them. But I have the numbers to compete with them again in 2024, I will be there!"
