Chantal van den Broek-Blaak to continue as a rider until 2024

#Contract extension

Chantal van den Broek-Blaak to continue as a rider until 2024

#Contract extension

02/02/2022

Chantal van den Broek-Blaak has reconsidered her earlier decision to stop cycling after the spring of 2022. The 32-year-old former world champion has now decided that she will continue as a rider until the end of 2024. She did also indicate that she may have to take a break at some point as she is planning to have children. The Team SD Worx management welcomes Blaak's proposal and is looking forward to keeping her on the team.

Linked cyclists Chantal Van Den Broek-Blaak

“Initially, we had hoped that Chantal would still ride the Tour de France this year,” Team SD Worx sports director Danny Stam says. “So we were surprised, but also delighted to hear her proposal to continue until the end of 2024. She is of great value to the team. There are not many riders of her stature around. She also always considers the team's best interests, which makes her extremely valuable. Last year she had a beautiful win in the Strade Bianche, which shows at what a high level she is still performing. Of course, we respect Chantal's desire to have children and we will take on the challenge to get her performing at the right level again afterwards.” 

Chantal Blaak chose to stop cycling during the first Covid wave in 2020. “My life looked very different back then,” she says. “My husband Lars was suffering from burnout. It was a difficult time, because I wanted to be there for him and at the same time keep training and racing as well as I could. I realised that family and health are what matter most. Everything else, even my sport, pales in comparison. I had also been cycling for a long time and some races didn't feel like challenges or new experiences anymore. So I decided to end my cycling career.” 

“But now, almost two years later, Lars has fully recovered and our life looks 'normal' again. And I have noticed that I am not done yet with the sport. I love sport, I still love cycling, I still feel the necessary enthusiasm and my performance is still good.

So I wasn't sure I had made the right decision.”

"I love sport, I still love cycling, I still feel the necessary enthusiasm and my performance is still good."

"When Blaak talked to the team about staying on until after the Tour de France Femmes, everyone immediately agreed. Blaak: “My first Tour will be a special experience that I am very much looking forward to. But I increasingly felt that I wasn't sure yet. And the people closest to me also started to notice.”

Blaak also underlines that her desire to have children was a reason for her to hesitate. “My husband Lars said that nowadays many elite athletes continue to compete when trying to get pregnant. After giving it a lot of thought – the decision was certainly not made overnight – we told the team openly and honestly how we felt about it.” 

Team SD Worx managers Erwin Janssen and Danny Stam immediately responded with enthusiasm. Blaak: “They expressed their confidence in me and they gave us their immediate support without a shadow of a doubt. We'll see how things go, because nothing is certain. But if we are blessed with pregnancy, the team will support me 100%. So I've signed as a rider until 31 December 2024.”

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