Lizzie Deignan has announced that she expects to be back racing after Paris Roubaix during the 2023 season. That means there’s a chance we see her back at Amstel Gold Race which is the same race we saw her come back to the peloton in 2019 after her first child. However, the month of May looks more likely. Deignan missed all of the 2022 season to go through pregnancy and gave birth in September 2022.
Lots of fans are keen to see Deignan back racing, with Paris Roubaix being thought of in particular after her legendary 2021 victory on the cobbles, a first for women. This year, however, the race will come too early.
“The conservative plan is to start racing again in May, so no Paris-Roubaix… But you never know. It will be a few months before it is April. The recovery is taking longer this time. Shea was a more difficult baby to carry, so during my pregnancy, I was less able to maintain my condition. And since she was born, we have had a lot of illness in the family.”
Lizzie Deignan
The British rider is committed to Trek Segafredo until at least the end of 2024. Deignan is one of a number of riders, such as Chantal van den Broek-Blaak, now making the most of the maturation of the Women’s WorldTour to take maternity leave. Previously, this was seen as a career ender but Deignan (and others before her like Marta Bastianelli) have shown that it is possible to reach the top again after giving birth.
