Steven Kruijswijk was in top form, but then fractured his hip in a crash: "Incredibly frustrating, but you know..."

Kruijswijk and his teammate Dylan van Baarle were among the worst-hit in the severe crash during the Critérium du Dauphiné. While Van Baarle broke his collarbone, the rider from the Netherlands suffered a fractured hip. "Fortunately, it was a relatively stable fracture, in the upper leg. I was able to get back on the bike fairly quickly, and with a lot of physiotherapy, we managed to build up my strength again pretty fast."

The dangers of racing in the Vuelta became evident again on Sunday. Van Baarle, unfortunately, had a minor fall in the supply zone and, despite working as hard as Kruijswijk to make it to the Vuelta, had to leave the race on day two with a hip injury. Another mishap in what has been a season full of bad luck for Visma | Lease a Bike.

Kruijswijk, with all the experience he’s gained at 37, tries not to dwell too much on these setbacks. "It’s great to be back in the race, especially after missing the Tour. So yeah, things are going well. The preparation wasn’t ideal, of course, but we had enough time. I was in top form when I crashed, so maybe that helped me recover a bit better. Those six, seven weeks were long enough to get me ready for this start."

That top form was, of course, intended for the Tour de France, the race that has been his main focus for years. However, the French races haven’t been kind to him. After finishing on the Tour podium in 2019, he’s faced setback after setback. In 2020, he broke his shoulder blade in the Critérium du Dauphiné; in 2021, he fell ill and didn’t finish the Tour; in 2022, he fractured his shoulder blade and collarbone in La Grande Boucle; and last year, he suffered a broken collarbone and pelvis in the Dauphiné. And then, there was this year’s crash.

How do you deal with such setbacks, especially knowing you’re a 37-year-old athlete who was in the best shape of his life? "It's very frustrating, of course. You work towards something, and when you can't make it to the start line, it's incredibly disappointing. But, well, you also know it can happen," says Kruijswijk, fully aware of the risks in cycling.

"The only thing you can do is see if you can pick yourself up and find the motivation to recover so you can prepare for another race," he acknowledges, noting that his family, who were with him in Portugal, played a key role in this. "Ultimately, it starts with your own motivation. But you also need people around you to help, both within the team and my family, to get you back on track as quickly as possible."

He was in peak form for the Dauphiné, but is it realistic to expect the same for this Vuelta? "I still need to grow into that top form," Kruijswijk admits. "I haven’t raced since then, so I haven’t been able to do those final intense training sessions. But I’m starting at a good level and believe I can improve as the race goes on."