Some bummer news for Whitehorse native Mara Roldan. She didn’t start stage 4, the uphill TT, after a crash the day before.
“On Monday I flatted 3k out from the main finishing circuit, and as I was coming back through the cars in the caravan, I crashed into the car… I slammed the bridge really hard and I had no time to react and hit the deck really hard,” she said.
She managed to finish on a spare bike, but didn’t start the next day. “I am in a lot of pain, may have broken some ribs, and my whole right side is pretty open with a lot of road rash.”
Roldan had a long winter, to say the least. It had been a long road back for Mara Roldan, who was finally starting to feel like herself again after a difficult 2025 marked by injury and setbacks.
The WorldTour rider crashed heavily at the Tour of Britain last year just 24 hours after winning a stage, setting off a difficult physical and emotional recovery through the rest of the season and off-season.
Once she returned to training and racing, she knew the restart would not be easy, with Omloop Het Nieuwsblad coming as her first race in months. But just as she began rebuilding momentum, she was struck by a driver near her home in Sittard, Netherlands, suffering another concussion days after her return to competition.
Her recovery included specialized treatment in Switzerland, focusing on retraining her vestibular system, balance and spatial awareness. But she got back into racing at the one-day Navarra Women’s Elite Classic and was even in the break, ultimately finishing 23rd. She got more race miles in at Itzulia and was excited for the Giro.
Roldan explained she struggled early with the heat. “Unfortunately, I bit of heat stroke the first two days because of the heat, but generally still rode well. Did my work for the team, so I was happy with that.”
Roldan said the team still managed a strong result, but admitted the experience has been frustrating. “It was rough to find myself on the deck again… but we’re still so happy and proud for the team.”
Still, a rider like Roldan is a fighter, as we’ve seen so many times, so it won’t be long before we see her where she rightfully belongs: at the front of the peloton.
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