It’s been a long road to recovery, but Mara Roldan is finally starting to feel like herself again. The roller coaster ride of recovery back in 2025. The WorldTour rider had a terrible crash in the Tour of Britain, just 24 hours after winning a stage.
The rest of the year and off-season was an emotional and physical journey. But she persevered.
Coming back from the first comeback
After finally getting back to training, she jumped back into racing. Roldan knew it wouldn’t be easy–and certainly, Omloop Het Nieuwsblad as your first competition in months and months is definitely a tough one, but she was happy to be back in the mix.
But once again, she encountered another snag. Roldan was struck by a driver near her home in Sittard, The Netherlands, suffering another concussion just as she was beginning to rebuild momentum just days after her first race back.
Recovery included specialized treatment in Switzerland focused on retraining her vestibular system, balance and spatial awareness.
Finding her legs again
The 22-year-old from Whitehorse returned to stage racing last week at the three-day Itzulia Women in Spain, finishing 69th overall for her Picnic PostNL team. The result itself was secondary. For Roldan, just being back in the bunch and racing on instinct again felt like a breakthrough.
“Honestly, the little trip from the Basque Country was a lot of fun,” Roldan said afterward. “My fitness was lacking. I found myself using up the climbs a little more than I would have liked. But at the same time, every second I was there, I wasn’t thinking about my leg or my head. That in itself was so freeing, and a win in my books.”
The comeback(s) have hardly been straightforward, but in recent weeks, however, progress has finally started to outweigh setbacks.
On setting realistic goals
Roldan said she came into Itzulia knowing three weeks of training would not magically restore top form, and admitted she was “digging very deep every stage.” Still, there were flashes of the rider she remembers.
A few days before Itzulia, she finished a solid 23rd at the one-day Navarra Women’s Elite Classic, and was even in the break. She admitted she definitely felt it, but it was nice to be in the mix again.
“Especially being able to get in the break in Navarra, that was some good fun,” she said. “Just definitely feeling like my old self a little bit — just not exactly as strong yet.”
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