“I feel I'm fighting for a top-5 place" - Blanka Kata Vas fully recovered and ready for Cyclocross World Championships

21-year-old Hungarian starlet, Blanka Kata Vas has had to wait a while to be back at full fitness but now she is fully recovered, refreshed and ready to bring her best form to the Cyclocross World Championships.

After having a bout of covid and suffering a bad crash at the Giro d'Italia Donne, Vas believes the challenges she's overcome have made her a better rider. "Last year was kind of a baptism of fire for me. For the first time in my career, I rode a fairly full road program. I learned a lot from it,” Vas said to Cyclingnews. “It was a good year. I learned a lot."

Casting an eye towards the upcoming Cyclocross World Championships, Vas is out to prove she is capable of hanging with the elite. “Yes, I will do the Worlds with the elite. I chose to race with the elites (instead of the under-23 category) last year, and then you cannot go back,” she confirmed. "If I'm going to be a world champion or European champion, I would like to be in that elite category, not in the under-23.”

“They're really strong, and I think this year's 'cross racing is on a higher level than before,” she continued. "I hoped one day, I can race with them because this year it hasn't been possible. Maybe at the start of the year, it was possible, but then my shape went down. I hope I can be better again for the Worlds. I just feel I'm fighting for a top-5 place, and it's really hard because last year I was fighting for the podium. Now it's even harder to be in the top 5.”