“Nice break” means no disruption to Olympic preparation; Giro Donne defence confirmed as next race
Marianne Vos (Rabobank) will not require surgery on her fractured collarbone, the Dutch champion’s team has announced. The 25-year-old sustained the injury during Friday’s Holland Hills Classic - which took place mostly on the circuit of this year’s World championships in Valkenburg - as she crashed after tangling with a race moto.
Despite the pain in her shoulder, Vos remounted and chased down breakaway companion Sharon Laws (AA Drink-Leontien.nl) and, after her Rabobank teammate Annemiek van Vleuten had caught them and attacked for the win, she managed to sprint to second place and raise both arms as she crossed the line.
She attended the post-race press conference with an ice-pack on her right shoulder, but a visit to hospital in nearby Maastricht confirmed that she had fractured her collarbone.
Vos was re-examined at the Meander Medical Centre in Amersfoort, where it was confirmed that surgery would not be required, and team doctor Ger van Olden has confirmed to the World number one that she can resume light training.
"It's a nice break and the ligaments are not affected,” Vos explained. “Dr Van Olden noted that luckily there are no crazy things. It looked good and I can now gently ride on the rollers and possibly next week on the bike. This is good news.”
With thankfully only light disruption to her training, the Dutch champion will be able to defend her title at the Giro Donne, which starts on June 29th. There are few details of the stages released, but it is unlikely to be as mountainous as the 2011 race, where Vos won five stages and the overall classification, as well as both the points and mountains jerseys.
"But as it now looks like I can ride the Giro Donne,” she confirmed. "The Giro is now my next planned race. It’s an excellent race with a view to the Olympics; in the Giro, I can gain strength and race rhythm. That’s what I’m now focusing on.”
Unfortunately the timing of the injury means that Vos may not be able to defend her red, white and blue driekleur jersey in the Netherlands championships on June 23rd.
“I don’t want to take any risks naturally,” she said. “I’ll only ride if my recovery has gone really well.”
Even if she does ride the road race however, she confirmed that she will not be defending the title that she also holds in the time trial three day’s before.
“That’s a little bit too soon,” she said, “especially in terms of mental preparation.”
The most important thing for Vos’ season though, is that her preparation for the Olympic Games - where, as usual, she will be the rider to beat - is still on track. She is naturally pleased that she has been cleared to ride her bike with immediate effect.
"It was very good news that I can, though it is only on the trainer,” she said. “I have to be careful because I can’t put weight on my right arm. Not on the handlebars, and I need to be careful lifting. But it's more than I dared to hope.”