Vos ends 'cross season early, will undergo surgery

Marianne Vos finished fifth in the Dutch cyclo-cross championships Sunday and quickly announced the race would be her last of the season, with surgery to correct a nod in an artery in her groin scheduled for Thursday and bringing an end to her 'cross campaign.

Vos' CCC-Liv team said the three-time road world champion and seven-time cyclo-cross world champion would need at least six weeks to recover before she could begin training for the road season. 

In a statement posted on the team's website, Vos indicated the problem has been ongoing, but she decided to compete in the national championships as a way to go into her convalescence with good form.

“The complaints have been around for some time," Vos said. "A recent check-up revealed the cause: a nod in the artery. In consultation with the CCC-Liv medical team, I decided to have surgery performed as quickly as possible. 

"Racing in the Dutch championship wouldn’t physically do any harm," Vos said. "I wanted to prepare myself at rest to be as fit as possible and to go to the limit one more time today.”

Vos is the anchor of the CCC-Liv road team, taking 19 wins in 2019 alone, and standing atop the Women's WorldTour rankings by season's end. She and the team wanted to time her recovery to provide her with enough room to start her road season in full force.

"If everything goes according to plan, I can burden my body again six weeks after the procedure," Vos said. "In cooperation with the team, I am working on a recovery process in order to achieve my goals during the road season. However, a successful operation has top priority at the moment.”