Chloe Diggart has been diagnosed with Epstein-Barr virus and will not compete in the remaining spring Classic season as she recuperates at home in Colorado Springs. Canyon-SRAM confirmed the diagnosis in the final line of the team press release prior to the Bruges-De Panne Classic.
Diagnosed with Epstein-Barr, the multiple world champion and double Olympic medalist showed early season form in track training in Ghent. But after returning to the U.S. in early March, she fell ill.
"Her track block in Belgium was the best in the last three years and her data was the best ever. [In the test at the Eddy Merckx Velodrome in February, she was in very good shape and continued to put on very heavy loads until Omloop Het Niusbrod.
"Upon her return to Colorado, Chloe was not feeling 100% after her first few training sessions. The medical team ran several tests and determined that she was infected with the Epstein-Barr virus.
Epstein-Barr's diagnosis came on top of a long recovery from a horribly debilitating crash at the 2020 Imola World Championships time trial.
The crash left her with an 80 percent laceration on her left leg, nearly ending her career and requiring most of the 2021 season to recover.
Dygert underwent two additional surgeries last fall, which were successful, and was preparing to compete in this season's Spring Classic campaign from Canyon-SRAM.
The illness hampered her road racing ambitions, and Omloop was only her second race with the team since signing a four-year contract with Canyon-SRAM through 2024.
"She is in very good shape now and should have been ready for Paris-Roubaix. She will probably rest or be off the bike for at least another month or two."
Daigert won the individual time trial at the USA Cycling Professional Road Championships last year under the Canyon Slam banner, albeit in a limited season.
With Canyon Slam's support, he ended his season early to allow for complete rehabilitation of his left leg. He also underwent two more successful surgeries last fall with the goal of removing excess scar tissue along the site of the initial injury and resolving cartilage and meniscus issues in his left knee.
Dygert then attended Canyon-SRAM's training camp this winter and placed 26th at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad in February. Her goal was to compete in a spring classic race and a summer stage race.
Sutton confirmed to Cyclingnews that Dygert would also be competing in the new Track Nations Cup calendar, aiming to break her own world record in the individual pursuit, and also to compete in the Road World Championships in Australia She also had her sights set on competing in the Road World Championships in Australia.
Daigert's training and racing plans are currently undecided but on hold as she recovers from the Epstein-Barr virus.
"She went for another round of tests today and is waiting for the results. After that, Jim Miller (USA Cycling, chief of sports performance) will decide what approach to take with her next training block."
Comments