US all-around rider Veronica Ewers put the brakes on the remainder of her 2024 highway season, taking prolonged time away from racing and coaching to recuperate from relative vitality deficiency in sport (RED-S). A joint choice was made together with her EF Training-Cannondale staff “within the curiosity of her psychological and bodily well being”.
“I am recovering from RED-S [relative energy deficiency in sport], and it was fairly clear on the finish of final yr, coming into this yr, that I used to be affected by it,” Ewers stated in a staff press launch.
“I had gotten a stress fracture in my heel, which prompted the staff to have me get a DEXA scan and get some blood testing finished, which confirmed that my bone density was fairly poor, and my estrogen ranges have been just about non-existent. I used to be experiencing the entire signs of RED-S.”
The Nationwide Library of Medication (within the US), describes RED-S as a syndrome brought on by an vitality imbalance that may result in extreme well being penalties, for ladies and men, together with cardiovascular, reproductive and psychological points.
When EF Training-Cannondale introduced it will launch a brand new Continental ladies’s staff for 2024, Ewers was the primary rider confirmed for the squad, signing a two-year deal. Her aspirations have been to maneuver right into a management function for Grand Excursions, the place she completed fourth total eventually yr’s Giro d’Italia Ladies and ninth the season earlier than on the Tour de France Femmes.
“I have been coaching or working towards sports activities fairly competitively since I used to be 10 or 11. So it is a very new expertise for me, and it is very scary. It sounds sort of ridiculous for this to be scary, nevertheless it’s leaping into the unknown,” she famous.
On the finish of the 2023 season, Ewers spoke on a staff podcast concerning the ups and downs she had skilled with psychological well being points. She continued with ‘a darkish cloudy headspace’ in January and had assist from her teammates at a staff camp in Mallorca to assist her recharge for 2024 however she had restricted race begins and by no means acquired the momentum she wished.
The newest race content material, interviews, options, critiques and skilled shopping for guides, direct to your inbox!
“So going into this yr, after I joined the brand new staff, we actually centered on me getting more healthy. In the beginning of this yr, the staff stated, ‘We will try to get you to a wholesome place. Which may imply that efficiency takes successful, however we’ll make some diversifications in the beginning of this yr, after which hopefully it will come round mid-season’.
“And so my coaching modified as a result of my physique wanted to heal and recuperate in sure methods. This then impacted my efficiency, which then had a domino impact on my psychological well being much more than I’ve already struggled with previously. So, at this level, I believe there are nonetheless some bodily blocks taking place in the case of efficiency, however I additionally suppose the psychological aspect is a giant half.”
EF Training stated they would supply entry to staff sources for Ewers, who famous her estrogen ranges and hormones have been “nonetheless not the place they must be”.
The 29-year-old accomplished Setmana Ciclista Valenciana in February and didn’t race once more till three Spring Classics in mid-April. She was capable of assist teammate Kim Cadzow to tenth total and Alison Jackson and Kirsten Faulkner to stage wins at Vuelta España Femenina because the staff was one of the best Continental squad, and third-best total, on the eight-stage race.
A constant performer at US Highway Nationals, the 2021 bronze medalist within the time trial had her lowest inserting since that first yr, eighth within the ITT and 14th within the highway race. She has not raced since US Nationals in West Virginia a month in the past.
The time away from racing would even be time fully off the bike for Ewers for a full bodily and psychological reset. She deliberate to stay in Europe and journey with household, then journey again to the US for an prolonged time.
“I’ll reap the benefits of this time by travelling a bit with my dad and mom. They are going to be with me to discover, and I get to be a correct vacationer for the primary time in a really very long time. I am wanting ahead to it,” she stated within the staff assertion.
“After doing a little bit of travelling right here, I am going to return to the States and go to my household’s lake home in northern Idaho, which I have not been to within the summertime in perhaps eight years. It is actually one among my favorite locations on this planet. So I am actually excited to get there, and I believe it can give me a number of peace simply being in that place. However I simply can spend a while with my household and associates whereas I am there in one among my favorite locations and simply get that reset.”
