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After making her first road racing appearance in 14 months, Chloé Dygert‘s comeback at La Vuelta Femenina has been cut short, as she pulled out of the race ahead of the final weekend.
The former time trial champion caught the eye in the early stages but did not start the penultimate stage of the seven-day Spanish race on Saturday morning.
The Canyon-SRAM team did not indicate any specific physical problem, but suggested the decision was to allow the US rider to recover and train for upcoming races.
“Chloé has now raced five hard stages for her welcomed return to racing with the team. Together with our coaching staff, we’ve decided that Chloé won’t take the start for stage six,” said director Magnus Backstedt.
“It will allow Chloé the time to recover and prepare for her next race.”
Dygert’s appearance at La Vuelta was the first time she had competed in a road race since February 2022, having only done a handful of race days since her storming time trial world title in 2019. At the following year’s Worlds she suffered a horror crash that cut open her thigh and required nearly a year of rehabilitation.
She signed for Canyon-SRAM for 2022 but contracted Epstein Barr Virus and missed the whole season, but for Omlooop Het Nieuwsblad in February. She also had another operation on her leg and then, in the off-season, heart surgery to treat a tachycardia issue.
She missed the first months of the 2023 season but appeared to have hit the ground running at La Vuelta, where she helped her team to second place in the opening team time trial before a pair of podium finishes on the opening two road stages where she looked to launch anticipatory sprints.
After placing 8th on the crosswinds of stage 4, she was 23rd on the first uphill finish on Friday, dropping from second to 12th overall. However, she will not contest Saturday’s hilly stage 6 or the mountain set-piece finale up at Lagos de Covadonga.
It is not yet clear which race is next on Dygert’s programme, although May is a busy month, with three more WorldTour events in the form of Itzulia Basque Country, Vuelta a Burgos, and Ride London Classique.
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