After nearly two years away from the cyclocross field, Shirin van Anrooij started from the back row before moving herself up to finish 16th in the first round of the UCI Cyclo-cross World Cup in Tábor.
Starting on the seventh row, due to having no UCI cyclocross ranking points, the Dutch star worked her way through the field on the fast and icy course in the Czech Republic, to boost her start position for the forthcoming races.
The former junior and under-23 cyclo-cross world champion suffered a rib injury at the conclusion of the 2023 season and then underwent surgery last autumn for a narrowed iliac artery.
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After a busy road campaign, Van Anrooij has now started preparing for her home UCI Cyclo-Cross World Championship in Hulst next January and the ‘beautiful sand races’ at Koksijde and Zonhoven over the Christmas period.
The Dutch woman has already had a taste of home glory after winning the women’s under-23 world title in Hoogerheide in 2023.
“The world championships in Hoogerheide was very special,” said Van Anrooij to broadcaster NOS. ahead of her cyclocross return.
“I won there in the under-23 category, but also because it was really just half-an-hour from my home in Goes. I could just ride my bike to the course reconnaissance. But now a World Championships in my own province, that’s really awesome.
"In December 2023, I broke my ribs in Antwerp and missed the rest of the cyclocross season. And last year there was that operation, which made me miss the whole winter. I think that makes me realise even more how much fun I get out of the 'cross. And that I definitely want to continue to do that.”
Following her operation last autumn, the multi-discipline rider returned to road racing with Lidl–Trek, finishing third in stage 6 of the Giro d’Italia Women and fourth on stage 7 of the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift.
On her last outing, the Dutch rider was cruelly denied the rainbow bands at the gravel world championships last month after being chased down by her countrywomen in the final stages.
Ahead of her opening cyclocross race of the season, Van Anrooij felt ready for her new 'cross campaign.
“I think I especially like the combination,” said Van Anrooij. “At the end of the road season, I always long for the 'cross. And at the end of the cyclo-cross season, I long for the road. I just love cycling. And running, as it turns out. My dream is to do the Ironman triathlon one day.
“I really missed 'cross. I mainly want to enjoy it and get back that feeling of racing 'cross. I had two weeks off after the gravel Worlds, I’m now four or five weeks back into training, it has been going really well, I feel fresh and ready to start another racing season again. We will have to see, I think it will be a big shock to the system.
“I’m super-excited to be back on the start-line, also a bit nervous, I don’t know what to expect and starting from the last row.
“I’m just happy to finally be back. It’s a super-fast course, I would have liked it if there had been a lot of mud because there would be a lot of running. It is what it is. I just need to make sure I get back to the front.”
Despite losing over a minute to her rivals in the opening two laps after being caught behind her slower competitors, Van Anrooij came roaring back.
The 23-year-old beat Canadian champion Maghalie Rochette in a sprint for 16th position and gained valuable ranking points for the forthcoming World Cup races.
“I start in the last row because, of course, I didn't earn any UCI points last year,” she said before the race. “The goal is to make it into the top 16 so that in two weeks in Flamanville [the second round of the World Cup] I can start a bit closer to the front.”
It was Van Anrooij’s Baloise-Glowi Lions teammate, Lucinda Brand, who took victory in Tábor, continuing her record-equalling run of 51 consecutive podiums.
Meanwhile, world champion Fem Van Empel (Visma-Lease a Bike) was absent from the opening World Cup round due to illness, and Puck Pieterse (Fenix-Deceuninck) is due to start her UCI Cyclo-Cross World Cup at Namur on December 14.
The biggest names in women’s cyclo-cross might not meet until the Christmas period, as Van Anrooij is riding a reduced calendar to combine with her road racing aspirations.
She added: “I’m racing the first three World Cups [Tábor, Flamanville and Terralba] and then I’ll fly straight from Sardinia to Spain for the road team's training camp.
“I’ll skip the cyclo-cross in Namur. I hope to improve week by week and want to be strong in those beautiful sand races like Koksijde and Zonhoven.”
