Why Maghalie Rochette wasn’t racing at the Koksijde World Cup

As the women lined up to race at Koksijde on Sunday, a notable contender was missing from the pack. Although Maghalie Rochette’s website had the fifth round of the UCI cyclocross World Cup—as well as Saturday’s Ambiancecross in Wachtebeke, Belgium—as part of her schedule, she was not present at either of the races this past weekend.

Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado earned her first elite women’s World Cup victory in Koksijde,moving her up to third in the World Cup rankings. Rochette began the day ranked second place overall but was pushed down to seventh after missing the race. A post on her Instagram account sheds some light on the reasons she missed the race in Koksijde. “Sometimes, we have to stop before hitting the wall,” she said. “Earlier in the year, we had planned a small mid-season break followed by a solid training period. I skipped Koksijde to take a few days off last week, and now that I feel super refreshed and motivated. We are back at it full throttle with the training!”

 

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Sometimes, we have to stop before hitting the wall! ? It was weird missing the Koksijde World Cup today. But earlier in the year, we had planned a small mid-season break followed by a solid training period. I skipped Koksijde to take a few days off last week, and now that I feel super refreshed & motivated, we are back at it full throttle with the training!! Backing off is scary sometimes, but I really think this break will pay off later in the season. Plus, I have to say those World Cup races are really fun to watch on the TV??? Photo @photowil

A post shared by Maghalie Rochette (@maghroch) on Nov 24, 2019 at 2:47pm PST

The UCI cyclocross World Cup series will continue on Dec. 22, in Namur, Belgium, after a month-long break in the schedule. Rochette is planning to compete in the last four World Cup events taking place in December 2019 and January 2020.