Michael Vanthourenhout hampered by injuries of recent crashes: “I still have a lot of pain in my shoulder"

Michael Vanthourenhout had a surprise victory in the cyclocross European Championships, however excluding that day in France the Belgian has been having a very difficult season, with crashes and mechanicals hampering his results significantly.

“I still have a lot of pain in my shoulder while cycling. Pulling the steering wheel is very difficult. As a result, my start is always very bad, because it is just difficult for me to get up to speed," Vanthourenhout shared with Wielerflits. "For example, jumping over the beams is not possible now. Then you really waste a lot of energy during the cross. Fortunately, maintaining a gradual pace is possible, but increasing the pace is difficult. That is always blocking the pain.”

He's out of the run for every cup in cyclocross, something which may give him more freedom for specific goals, but has him distant from other seasoned cross riders. In the Koppenbergcross he was blocked right at the start of the race. In Maasmechelen and Niel he's had stomach issues and a thigh injury, and in Kortrijk he was heading for victory before crashing out in the final lap. He suffered a dislocated shoulder. He still travelled and raced in Dublin the next day but finished only 10th. This past week's result in Boom, fifth, wasn't the result that propelled him back to the top as he lost over a minute to Joris Nieuwenhuis and Cameron Mason.

“It will take a few more weeks, I think. At this stage of the season you can no longer rest," Vanthourenhout said - although a few riders are taking time off competition this weekend, as there is no Superprestige or X2O Badkamers, and the World Cup race takes place in Val di Sole, Italy. "But I can't make the injury worse either, so it's basically just dealing with the pain for now. I hope that within one or two weeks it will be a bit better and that I will be back at full strength," he concludes.