SD Worx’s Hungarian champion Blanka Vas is making a much-anticipated return to cyclocross, just over a month after suffering a clavicle fracture. She is scheduled to participate in the X2O Badkamers Trofee in Kortrijk on Saturday, marking her comeback. Following this, Vas is expected to compete in around thirteen more cyclocross races, as anticipated by her team.
The 22-year-old rider encountered a training accident five weeks ago, resulting in a broken clavicle. Fortunately, she underwent prompt surgery and embarked on her rehabilitation journey. Now deemed fit enough to return to racing, expectations are being cautiously managed. “I expect nothing from her and that is realistic,” says team director Lars Boom, tempering expectations.
Boom acknowledges Vas’s high level of skill but notes her lack of recent competitive racing. “She clearly lacks race rhythm at the moment. Now she needs to regain that. In Kortrijk, she should start to get back the feel for cyclocross, particularly on a technical course that suits her. However, we shouldn’t panic if Puck Pieterse and Fem van Empel pull ahead of her,” Boom adds.
SD Worx has outlined that Vas will take part in approximately thirteen more cyclocross races this season, including events in Boom, Flamanville, Namen, Gavere, Heusden-Zolder, Diegem, and Hulst.
Team SD Worx has also confirmed the race schedules for Vas’s teammates Christine Majerus and Marie Schreiber. Majerus is set to compete in Boom, Namen, Gavere, and Diegem, while Schreiber’s programme includes Dublin, Flamanville, Namen, Antwerpen, Gavere, Heusden-Zolder, Diegem, and Hulst.
Main photo credit: Bart Hazen
