Michael Valgren will not feature on EF Education-EasyPost's 2023 roster as his recovery from major injuries looks set to continue well into next season.
The Dane will drop to the team's feeder set-up, EF Education-Nippo Development, although he will have opportunities to represent the WorldTour team again later in the year.
Valgren, who broke his pelvis in a heavy crash this summer, has only recently been able to ride again and he is still unsure when he might return to racing, even if he is determined to do so.
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This week, the 30-year-old's team confirmed that he will not be registered on their roster for 2023. Instead, he will drop two divisions to Continental level. According to the team, this is "in order to allow him time to recover fully and not rush his recovery".
The team indicated that Valgren will "start the season" with the Development squad, as his recovery is evaluated, with options open for a return. UCI rules dictate that riders can move from Continental teams to WorldTour teams outside the usual transfer window, so Valgren could step back in at any point if there were space on the roster.
However, if EF choose to take their roster to the maximum of 30 riders - and presumably this is why they are dropping Valgren - then there is still the opportunity for a WorldTour team to field a rider from their development squad in certain races - limited to ProSeries or Class 1 races.
Valgren, former winner of Amstel Gold Race and Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, crashed at high speed on a descent at the Route d'Occitannie in June, fracturing his pelvis as well as rupturing both major ligaments and the meniscus in his knee.
Doctors told him he might never race his bike again, but he recently insisted he isn't giving up on his career.
"I love my job, and I will do anything I can to get back to it," Valgren said.
"I really don’t want to end my career with an injury. I always want to say I will stop when I don’t want to do this any more, and I am absolutely not ready to stop.
"I love my life. Not being on the bike, not being a bike rider, is something that I just can’t think about at the moment."
Valgren recently underwent a Manipulation Under Anaesthesia procedure, which proved something of a breakthrough as scar tissue was removed from his knee and he was able to turn a pedal for the first time since the crash. Now, he combines lengthy physio visits with 15-minute sessions on his home trainer.
"I’ll be honest. When I’m going to be at full strength is hard to say but, I am in really good hands and I am working hard every day, so sooner or later I will be back."
