Six weeks after fracturing her ankle, Ellen van Dijk has won the race against time to recover and will race in the 2024 Paris Olympics time trial and road race for the Netherlands. Van Dijk sustained the injury during a training camp in Spain at the start of June, before undergoing surgery and completing training adapted for the cast on her right leg to rebuild her race fitness. The Dutch Cycling Federation (KNWU) announced Van Dijk’s participation on Wednesday, 10 days before the individual time trial, after “various performance tests showed that she is ready to represent the Netherlands with ambition”.
“Never Give Up! This is my mantra for over 6 weeks now. Every step I kept repeating it to myself. Don't give up, it is still possible.
I took it day by day, although it wasn't easy,” said Van Dijk on Instagram after confirming her participation. “In a previous update, I said this could be the biggest challenge of my career. I'm now sure it is.
“Last week I did some serious TT intervals to test my shape. I was surprised by the result, but there is still some work to do. I am very happy though to announce that I made it to Paris! We will see what will happen from here.
” Van Dijk will take on the ITT where, as a three-time World Champion in the discipline, she will be one of the favourites alongside current rainbow jersey holder Chloe Dygert (USA). Unfortunately, fellow time trial specialist Marlen Reusser (Switzerland) announced earlier this week that she won’.