Ava Holmgren injury update after crash at Scheldeprijs
Lidl-Trek rider went down in Belgium, doesn't remember exactly what happened
Orillia’s Ava Holmgren had a slight setback to her WorldTour debut season after a crash at Scheldeprijs. The 18-year-old has been having a a stellar debut with her new team, Lidl-Trek by clinching second place in the final stage of the Tour de Normandie on Sunday. She was among six riders who formed an early breakaway. Josie Nelson (DSM-Firmenich-PostNl) secured the stage victory, while Mie Bjørndal Ottestad (Uno-X), also part of the breakaway, claimed the overall general classification title, displacing Ellen van Dijk (Lidl-Trek) to third place.
A couple of crashes
But cycling is full of ups as down, and last week, there were a few downs. On April 1, she had a small crash at Ronde de Mouscron. She managed to get up however, and would go on to finish 80th.
“I crashed with a couple of other riders at a pinch point on a downhill. Luckily I slid and only got road rash,” she said after finishing the 122.5 km-race in Belgium. “My muscles were sore from the impact but I was good enough to race again on Wednesday. “
Then, it was time for Scheldeprijs. Except things took a left turn at the 130.5 km Belgian one day.
“I don’t remember exactly what happened before my crash at Scheldeprijs, but from what I can remember and after looking at the race replay, there was some road furniture and we bunched together,” the junior world ‘cross silver medallist said. “Then someone ahead or beside me went sideways and took out my front wheel. It happened too fast for me to react so I landed on my face/chin. However, I’m glad that I didn’t take anyone down with me! “
She sustained a concussion, bruises, stitches in my chin, trauma to the jaw, a chipped tooth, and some road rash. Despite the injuries, she is grateful it wasn’t worse, given some of the crashes that the cycling community has witnessed these past two weeks.
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“It seems like a lot but with the recent crashes in the men’s peloton, I feel pretty lucky with just this,” she added.
“I have a bit of a cold now, but after what my body has just experienced, I am really not surprised. With all of the latest challenges, I am doing my best to rest and recover,” Holmgren said. “I am excited for when the time comes to get back on the bike so that I can get in some good training and get ready for the next races.”
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