Ryan Trebon (Sho-Air/Cannondale) riding to a 12th place finish today(Image credit: Dave McElwaine/trailwatch.net)
Ryan Trebon is close to a complete recovery after fracturing three ribs and two vertebrae in a crash at the start of the cyclo-cross season in September. The Cannondale-Cyclocrossworld.com rider is working on building his strength back with the hopes of salvaging his season with a good performance at the USA Cycling Cyclo-cross Championships held in January in Austin, Texas.
“Physically I am doing pretty well,” Trebon told Cyclingnews. “I don’t have any complications or pain in my back. My ribs are occasionally a little sore but manageable. The main issue I have is strengthening the muscles in my back that atrophied from almost six weeks of no use and limited movement. You really need a strong core for cyclo-cross racing, and I was lacking that big time a few weeks ago when I tried to race in Ohio and Louisville.”
Trebon opened the season with a second-place finish at the UCI C1 QianSen Trophy Cyclocross Yanqing Station in China on August 30. He returned to the US and looked set for success, however, he was forced to take weeks off his bike after he crashed in a local race in Vancouver, Washington four days before CrossVegas.
Trebon jumped back into racing after taking a little over six weeks off. Although he won a local Cross Crusade race outside of Portland, he had to settle for mediocre results at two Cincy3 events in Ohio at the beginning of November. He also raced at the Waves For Water Cyclocross in Tacoma, Washington at the beginning of December, where he placed in the top five on the first day of racing.
“I pretty much have done very little racing since I crashed,” Trebon said. “Training is good, [I've] been spending a lot of time in San Diego just rebuilding my overall fitness. I feel really good on the bike, I'm just lacking a bit of race speed and acceleration.
“It’s been frustrating for sure lacking the snap and speed that I usually have but I have had to try and be realistic about this season. It was a pretty severe injury and I am just happy to be back racing this year.”
Despite being in the rebuilding stages of recovery, Trebon still plans to contest the win at the USA Cycling Cyclo-cross Championships in four weeks. The top 90 riders on the overall USA Cycling Professional Cyclo-cross series standings, and any rider with one or more UCI points, are pre-qualified to register for the elite men’s championship event. Trebon is currently sitting in 59th place.
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“Yes, I will definitely be racing in Austin,” Trebon said. “I’m not worried about the points issue. I would rather be on the first row than the second or third at the start but if my training continues to improve and I have a good day at the race, I don’t see any reason why I cannot compete for the win again this year.”
Kirsten Frattini is the Deputy Editor of Cyclingnews, overseeing the global racing content plan.
Kirsten has a background in Kinesiology and Health Science. She has been involved in cycling from the community and grassroots level to professional cycling's biggest races, reporting on the WorldTour, Spring Classics, Tours de France, World Championships and Olympic Games.
She began her sports journalism career with Cyclingnews as a North American Correspondent in 2006. In 2018, Kirsten became Women's Editor – overseeing the content strategy, race coverage and growth of women's professional cycling – before becoming Deputy Editor in 2023.
