Ellen van Dijk has announced that she is expecting her first child in September and will take maternity leave from racing for the duration of 2023. The reigning time trial World Champion and UCI Hour Record holder aims to return to competition in 2024 with a target placed on the Olympic Games in Paris.
“Me and Benjamin are super excited to share the news that we are expecting our first child in September. It has always been our wish to start a family, and so to have this wish come true still feels a bit unreal right now,” Van Dijk said.
Van Dijk, who is under contract to race with Trek-Segafredo through the end of 2024, enjoyed one of her most successful seasons last year, having smashed the UCI Hour Record in 49.154km in May and then securing her third career world title in the individual time trial at the UCI Road World Championships in Wollongong in September.
“Together with the team and the unwavering support of Benjamin, I have achieved my biggest goals over the past two years. When discussions around an extension of my contract began last year, we spoke about my seemingly conflicting ambitions: I want to win a medal at the Olympics in 2024, but I would also like to start a family. Straight away, the team was open to both scenarios, and that was incredibly heart-warming,” Van Dijk said.
Van Dijk joined Trek-Segafredo at a pre-season training camp where she spoke with Cyclingnews about her legacy as a time triallist, future goals and staying relaxed about racing and her career. The team also revealed her stunning new Trek Speed Concept.
She said that while she was looking forward to competing at La Vuelta Feminine in May and Tour de France Femmes in July, she is nonetheless looking forward to taking time away from racing to start a family.
“Of course, it’s a shame I won’t be racing my new supersonic shiny Speed Concept this year, and I was really looking forward to wearing the rainbow at the Tour de France Femmes and Vuelta, but you can’t have it all,” Van Dijk said.
“Nevertheless, I’m very pleased to see these racing taking the time trial discipline seriously, and hopefully, they’ll keep it for next year. It will also be weird not to defend my world title this year, but I think by that time, my mind will be somewhere else entirely.”
Van Dijk confirmed that she discovered her pregnancy while at the Trek-Segafredo team training camp in January and as felt supported in the early stages.
“Obviously, pregnancy is not something you can completely plan for, particularly as an elite athlete where, as in my case, there is not always a regular menstrual cycle. Therefore, I feel even more fortunate to get pregnant. I took the test and found out I was pregnant when I was at training camp, and after Benjamin, Manuel [Rodriguez, Doctor] and Josu [Larrazabal, Performance Manager] were the first ones I told the news,” she said.
“This is when the saying ‘the team feels like a family’ really comes to life. They were super excited for us and gave us their full support. A little later, I called Ina [Teutenberg, Sports Director], who was in Australia at that moment, and she was also incredibly supportive and happy for us. Everybody has reacted super positively, and I couldn’t wish for a better environment to be in as I go on this journey.”
She confirmed, too, her tentative plan to return to competition during the 2024 season, specifically targeting the Paris Olympic Games in August.
“I definitely have unfinished business with the Olympics. In 2016, I crashed in the time trial and ended in a disappointing fourth place then, I didn’t get selected to go to Tokyo so, together with Benjamin and Josu, we have already started to tentatively make a structured plan for a comeback in 2024 and for Paris,” Van Dijk said.
“I haven’t looked beyond that, for the moment. We are really looking forward to this big adventure, but of course, we have no idea what it’s really going to be like. Everything about this pregnancy is new for me, a lot is happening to my body, and I am embracing every change.”
Van Dijk’s maternity leave comes as her teammate Lizzie Deignan prepares to return to racing following the birth of her second child. The Dutch rider credits Trek-Segafredo for leading the way in allowing both women to combine family life with a professional career.
“Having Lizzie on the team means a lot to me. She is a role model, and seeing her do what she does, is very inspiring. Lizzie and Phil [Deignan] have proved that it’s possible to have a family and make a successful comeback. I’m sure I will be asking her for advice now and then as well,” Van Dijk said.
“To have the full support from Trek is something special, and they really are the game changers in women’s cycling. Having the option to get pregnant during your career should be a human right, but it wasn’t in our sport. However, thanks to Trek, other teams followed the example of supporting pregnancy, and that eventually led to it also becoming a UCI rule.”
