This is the remarkable story of Valgren: from hanging onto the side of a cliff to dreaming of the Tour of Flanders again

99% of the peloton would have given up when the doctor, six months after a gruesome crash, told Michael Valgren that there was little progress in his condition. His body was recovering, but the impact of the fall left the Dane barely able to walk. Career gone, dreams shattered - right? Not in this case, because after a spectacular turnaround, Valgren has been competing in professional races again since April of this year. This is the remarkable story of a top athlete with a determined spirit, who has ensured that he can once again compete with the best in 2024. 

Many cycling fans will remember the incident: Valgren had a fall on June 19, 2022, in the Route d’Occitanie, where he admitted taking far too much risk in the battle for the breakaway. On the descent, he went flying over the guardrail and landed about ten meters lower. Taj Jones of Israel-Premier Tech witnessed his fall and alerted the organization. Valgren held onto a cliff, waiting for help. The injuries were severe: Valgren broke his pelvis, dislocated his hip and his knee was in bad shape. The hip, in particular, was a major cause for concern and there were even fears that he would need an artificial hip. Fortunately, surgery on that joint was successful.

Text continues below photo

Valgren was at a crossroads: to give up or continue?

What followed was a painful journey of at least six months, during which his hip recovered very slowly, and Valgren was left waiting. And then, when there was finally some improvement in that area, progress with his knee was slow. "The first six months were shit. I made almost no progress. It was a nightmare," says the outspoken Dane in an interview with IDLProCycling.com. "In the first six months, I had a lot of doubts. I talked with my family a lot, which kept me working hard, and that's why I'm here now."

Because Valgren was at a crossroads until Christmas of 2022: to give up or continue? While around October of that year, it was still just hours of exercises with the physiotherapist every day, as the new year approached, eventually he saw improvement. "The medical staff put in a tremendous amount of work to get his muscles in balance again," says Charles Wegelius, team manager of EF Education-EasyPost. "They visited him at home, always stayed in contact with his local physiotherapist, and most importantly, when he couldn't train or race, he always felt like a part of the team. We took him to races whenever possible, including in the team car. It was important to let him know that no one had given up on him."

So Valgren didn't give up either. At the end of 2022, he hashed out a plan with the team: to run up some miles with EF's development team and hope for a miraculous recovery. The winter leading into 2023 was quite promising and when two training camps with EF's young talents also went great, he made his comeback in early April at the Tour of the Région Pays de la Loire. Valgren even raced the Brabantse Pijl a week later and gradually built up his form and recovery towards the national championships in June.

Text continues below photo

EF Education-EasyPost full of praise for Valgren after "more than difficult year"

From the Danish championship onwards, his legs started getting there again, Valgren tells us. "After the national championships, I took a short break, went back to my family in Denmark. I worked on my form there, and in the Tour of Tuscany (September 13, red.), I felt like I was back in the mix. The Tour de Langkawi (end of September in Malaysia, red.) was a bit of a strange race, but there too, I had the same feeling." Wegelius also confirms this: "Part of the process was to do the work in training and then give him race hours again. We started with races outside the WorldTour, and the fact that he did well there is already a big step for this year."

Valgren achieved two top-ten finishes in the Coppa Sabatini (eighth) and Japan Cup (ninth), but more importantly, after half a year of intense racing, it seems he has definitively overcome all his injuries. "I feel good and would almost say that there is no difference now from how I felt before my crash. I'm back to my best level, and mentally that's very satisfying. In the year and a half that I was out, the standards within the peloton have certainly gone up, but I can handle it."

At EF Education-EasyPost, they have incredible respect for their rider's comeback, as evident from Wegelius's words. "It was more than a difficult year. It was an incredibly long road. Kudos to him and the team, with Michael taking the lead. For others, it might have been easier to quit, but he put in an incredible effort, and we always supported him. He's back to where he needs to be."

Text continues below photo

Valgren wants to perform at the level of Pedersen and Vingegaard

And now? Now, the big dreams begin, because Valgren has always dreamed big. After putting himself out there as a young talent during his time at Tinkoff, he won two major races during his two seasons at Astana: the Omloop Het Nieuwsblad and the Amstel Gold Race. His move to Dimension Data in 2019 didn't turn out well, but the expectations at EF are still high. "I kept training to compete in races like the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix again. Not doing them for two years was not pleasant. I'm really looking forward to racing at the highest level again. That's where I draw my motivation from. I'm only 31, so I have a few more good years ahead of me. I'm happy to be back at this level, and 2024 will be a new season."

The big question then is: how far can Valgren's powers take him after the restart of his career? How realistic is it for him to catch such a big fish again? Valgren is eager to give his all and prove that he can be just as good as his fellow Danes Mads Pedersen and Jonas Vingegaard. "It's great for Danish cycling. The downside is that when I finish in the top ten somewhere, it's not even considered very good anymore, although I can be very happy with it. They keep winning, and that's what Danish cycling needs in order to continue growing. The youth must keep cycling, so I'm happy for them. But I have what it takes to compete with them again in 2024; I'll be there!"

Wegelius, on behalf of EF, is also convinced of this. According to him, Valgren's ambitions are achievable. "I think so, absolutely. He has the skills for the big races. An important factor in this story is that there was a point where he had to choose: to quit or continue. He realized that he's not done yet and still wants to achieve things. If he comes back to where he wants to be, it's not as mere filler for the peloton. That's not his nature and it doesn't suit his talent either. When he embarked on this long journey, it was with the goal of being among the best once again."