Ellen van Dijk, after crazy months, will have to get up at 5 a.m. now

8th place appeared to be the maximum achievable for Ellen van Dijk at the World Time Trial Championships in Zurich, Switzerland. The Dutch rider is thereby (almost) concluding a hectic year after giving birth to her infant son, a heavy fall/collision on training in Spain, and finally, the race against the clock to make it to the championships. At IDLProCycling.com, she told her story following the World Time Trial Championships.

Van Dijk's main focus was on the Olympics in Paris, where, in the rainy conditions, she ended up no further than fifth place. She then went straight to the Tour de France Femmes before moving on to the European Championships in Hasselt (second) and World Championships in Zurich (eighth) via the Tour de Romandie. In normal circumstances, only the Simac Ladies Tour is still on the cards, although it will mainly be a matter of switching off in the coming period.

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Van Dijk looks forward to time with her young family

Ellen, you already expected that you wouldn't be competing for medals here.

"I knew I had to put a lot of power in that first stretch, but then you miss out at the end. If you see the difference with third place (almost a minute ed), that's a big gap. That was also a bit to be expected. It was a good time trial for me, but it wasn't for me."

You were still on the hot seat for a while. Did that give you hope in a way?

"Yes, definitely. I heard I had pretty good intermediate times on the climb, which is my weakest point. I hoped that was a good sign, but I was unsure. Then you notice some ladies with a better time, and then you know the podium will be tough."

Demi Vollering just finished second. Have you spoken to her yet?

"Yes, I thought she would win. She was very good on the bike and riding at great acceleration, but I think Grace Brown managed to kick it up a notch there. She was - like at the Olympics - outstanding. She shows she's the best, so winning was deserved. It is tough on Demi, but it was also a perfect time trial for her."

You threw all your last strength into this. What's left now?

"I'm going home, and I can celebrate our little son's first birthday in two weeks, so that's also very special. That will be on October 4. It's been a crazy year, so I will let everything sink in for a while. I do look forward to being home with the family."

So are you relieved in a way, that it's kind of over now?

"In a way, yes. I was still looking forward to this, but it was crazy. I still had to select myself at the European Championships last week, so it's not like you have worked towards this for months. Eventually, you do that with commitment, but it's different from making it a goal for a whole year. And I also knew it wouldn't be my course."

What things are you looking forward to?

"I'm not looking forward to waking up every morning at five o'clock, haha. That will be my turn now, but cuddling with him and doing everyday things is wonderful. I need that, too, to pick up some more at home. For my boyfriend, it's been rough, too."

How rough?

"Well, I can't put that into words. That whole thing with the broken ankle was nerve-wracking for him: he had to do everything for Faas and me. That was very, very intense. It's been quite a year, for sure. I'm very proud of what he did compared to what I did myself."