Bad news for cyclo-cross fans: Van Anrooij has to end season after surgery, Van Aert returns later than expected

Cyclo-cross fans won't be able to enjoy Shirin van Anrooij in the field this winter. The 22-year-old rider of Baloise Trek Lions and Lidl-Trek announced this via her social channels. Van Anrooij underwent surgery for a constricted femoral artery and faces a long rehabilitation. Cyclo-cross fans must wait a little longer for Wout van Aert's return.

First, Van Anrooij had set everything on a good Tour de France Femmes on the road. No doubt many would have signed up for a thirteenth place in the final ranking, but Lidl-Trek and Van Anrooij were not satisfied with that. She competed in a few races after that but dropped out in Romandie and finished "only" 31st at the World Gravel Championships. "After some tough months on and off the bike, we finally discovered what was causing the problems in my left leg," she said.

Van Anrooij appeared to have been cycling for some time with a common cycling problem: a constricted femoral artery. As a result, riders cannot count on maximum power in the leg at maximum effort. "It was a scary diagnosis at first, but I had successful surgery, and I have a smile on my face again. I can finally start my recovery, although my offseason will be a bit longer this year."

In Zeeland (in the Netherlands), Van Anrooij begins the great unknown, as a return date is always challenging to determine in the case of such injuries. "It will be around six months before I can think of racing again, which means no cyclo-cross for me in 2024/2025. I will watch the others and cheer for them. The support I've received from my family, friends, staff, and teammates has been fantastic. That makes the process a lot easier."

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Wout van Aert still not ready for his return

This makes it a cyclo-cross winter unlike any other. Puck Pieterse will not be in the field for the time being after a long season on the road and mountain bike, and in the men's events, it remains to be seen whether Mathieu van der Poel and Tom Pidock will compete. This is certain for Wout van Aert, but the Belgian hope that he might start as early as the end of November now seems too optimistic.

HLN wrote Sunday that Van Aert will not start the cyclo-cross season until late December, and then it remains to be seen whether he will include the Belgian Championships and World Championships. Visma | Lease a Bike and Van Aert, following his knee injury sustained from the Vuelta a España, prefers a solid training camp in Spain to rushing into cyclo-cross. "According to his sports director Jan Boven, Van Aert will not enter the field until after the Visma-Lease a Bike team training camp in December," it sounds.

So, the Christmas period could be fun, but until then, the current stars will have to provide entertainment. Fem van Empel, as world champion, is the only women's road racer who is already fully active in the field. Among the men, we already see Thibau Nys at work.

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