No two roads to Omloop Het Nieuwsblad and the Opening Weekend are ever identical, but for former winner Michael Valgren (EF Education-EasyPost), his long countdown to Saturday’s start in Gent is perhaps one of the rarest and most tenacious of recent years.
Valgren was victorious in Omloop Het Nieuwsblad in 2018 before going on to clinch the Amstel Gold Race the same spring. However, in June 2022, at the Route d’Occitanie, a major crash left the Danish rider with a fractured pelvis, two ruptured knee ligaments and a ruptured meniscus. That evening, doctors were unwilling to say if a return to racing was ever going to be possible or if Valgren’s career was over.
It did turn out to be possible, finally. But first came after months of rehabilitation and an entire year registered with the EF Education-Nippo Development Team in 2023, prior to a full-scale return to the WorldTour squad – with whom he also raced last season – this January.
During the recent Volta ao Algarve, which he completed in a respectable 44th place, Cyclingnews suggested to Valgren that after such a difficult 18 months, in some ways, anything he achieves in racing from here on in must feel like a bonus.
The 33-year-old agreed, albeit initially in a somewhat laconic Danish style, saying, “Yeah, you could maybe say it like that.”
But his enthusiasm and motivation shine through quickly enough afterwards when he immediately added, “I’m super happy and grateful to be back here, super glad to be in a World race and to be going in the big races this year.
“I feel like I belong here, so for sure it’s a bonus, but I’m not, let’s say, done with performing, I still want to perform.”
Probably the best news of all for Valgren is there have been no long-term effects physically from the crash, or as he puts it, “Now I’m happy, the form is good, this year I’m basically preparing for the Classics, I am where I want to be. I’ve had a good winter, so I can’t complain at the moment.”
Nor could he complain about the Volta ao Algarve, either where on stage 1 he did some sterling work for Marijn (van den Berg), saying afterwards that “I went over the last little kick with him in the top five and delivered him before the roundabout then my job was over.”
The sprinter, unfortunately, had to abandon the race on stage 3 because of a crash that also poleaxed former World Champion and teammate Rui Costa, who suffered a broken collarbone.
But the big goal and test in February,…
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