Shirin van Anrooij has been forced to end her cyclocross season early after suffering from a broken rib sustained in a training crash.
Baloise Trek Lions confirmed in a medical update on Instagram that Van Anrooij injured herself during a training crash just ahead of the Christmas block of cyclocross racing in December.
"Unfortunately, Shirin van Anrooij won’t be racing CX races anymore this season. A hard crash during CX training caused her a lot of pain in her ribs, which she tried to fight as much as possible," Baloise Trek Lions confirmed in a medical update on Instagram.
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"But with one heavily bruised and one broken rib, the risk of racing is just too big. Her recovery is our priority at this point."
Despite injuring her ribs during the second to last week in December, Van Anrooij continued to race at Exact Cross Mol-Zilvermeer, where she finished second and at the UCI Cyclocross World Cup in Antwerp, where she finished sixth.
Although she started the World Cup in Gavere, she was not able to finish the race due to the pain of her injuries.
“My mind said yes, but my body screamed no. I was so excited for the Christmas period and ready to show good form there, especially in one of my favourite races. But a very heavy fall on my ribs during cross training made this impossible," Van Anrooij said after pulling out of the race in Gavere.
“In the crosses of Mol and Antwerp, I was still able to fight the pain and ride good crosses, but today, it was too much."
Van Anrooij had a strong season with a victory at the Trek Cup and two podiums at the Exact Cross series in Beringen and Mol, along with top-10 performances in the World Cup series.
She will not be able to compete at the UCI World Championships held in Tabor in February. “Our priority at this time is her recovery," Baloise Trek Lions said.
