Lizzie Deignan set for comeback at Ardennes Classics after maternity leave – ‘I’m still a bit in the unknown’

Britain’s Lizzie Deignan is delighted to be back ahead of schedule after her second maternity leave.

The 34-year-old veteran is set to make her return at the Ardennes Classics – La Fleche Wallonne and Liege-Bastogne-Liege – just as she did after the time away for her first child.

This time, following almost a year and a half away, she reflected on how her life has changed once again, and what she expects for her season.

“It’s really strange to be back at the same hotel that we always stay at for the Ardennes. It’s like nothing has really changed here, but so much has changed in my life outside.

“It’s kind of a surreal feeling to be back but also a really familiar and safe feeling to be again with my Team.

“It was just nice to see everyone with the same, smiling happy faces. I know the staff, I know my equipment. None of that is new and it’s just exciting. Physically I’m good. Training’s gone really well; all of my kind of endurance numbers are really good. Yes, I feel good.

“Many riders have spoken to me, usually privately, about my pregnancy. I’m always pleased to offer my opinion or guidance. But I think that it’s such an individual thing in terms of riders’ circumstances and team support. I’m just really pleased it’s becoming normal and I hope it could become more and more normal in the future.”

Her last appearance was at the Women’s Tour in October 2021, and the following September she gave birth to her second child, Shea.

After her first-born Orla in 2018, she returned with May’s Vuelta a Espana and that was the race pencilled in for her second comeback, but injuries to team-mates moved her up the calendar, and towards Wednesday’s La Fleche Wallonne, and Liege-Bastogne-Liege on Sunday 23 April.

She explained: “The plan was to have a bit more time to prepare for the comeback. I was supposed to start at the Vuelta. But at the end I’m a teammate and it’s really important for me to support my teammates.

“I could see that they were struggling in terms of bad luck, with crashes and sickness. It would be silly for me to be at home training when actually I can get the same things I need from racing. Obviously I’m not going to be as prepared as they would have liked, but you know the Vuelta is only two weeks away, it’s not like I’ve been called up two months early.”

“There’s a little bit of a gap in my preparation in terms of the real intensity but I will just use the races for it. There’s no pressure on me to be there in the final or to have a result. It’s really about just doing what I can for the Team and I’m more than happy to do it.”

Deignan admitted she was concerned that the strength of competition may have grown during the interim.

She continued: “The last time I had a year away from racing there was a definite jump in the strength of the peloton. Now, I don’t know if that will have happened again. Probably it will have. When I stopped for Orla’s birth, I knew my numbers in training coming back were competitive in terms of comparison to myself and what previously I’ve been able to produce in terms of power. But it had dropped in comparison with the peloton. So, I’m curious to see if that has happened again.

“In terms of my power it has definitely taken a little bit longer this time to come back. It was a harder pregnancy so that has been difficult physically. But it will be interesting to see, the race programme is a little bit different now. I have that back-to-back racing stages race to bring on my form, hopefully quicker. But yeah, in general, I’m still a bit in the unknown on where my form will be in comparison to other riders.

“I spent time watching the races in the past weeks and there’s no doubt that SD Worx have been phenomenal. They’ve really stepped up but I think that’s not something that’s new, [Demi] Vollering and [Lotte] Kopecky are exceptional athletes. But I think it’s a long season and you can’t quickly jump to conclusions about our capacity to battle with them. I think we’ll get more and more competitive as the season goes on. They’ve dominated the spring, but for sure we will be back.”

At 34, Deignan reflected on her remaining ambitions in the sport, saying: “I would say for me the things that motivate me the most obviously are the same objectives, like the World Championships or the Olympics. But it’ll be really exciting for me to take part in the Tour de France Femmes and also look for new opportunities.

“I am the rider with the most ‘monuments’ at the moment, so I’d like to try and go for new monuments that maybe, and hopefully, we will have in our calendar soon, like Milano-Sanremo or Lombardia. I would love to be able to aim for five monuments in my career, that would be special.”

– – –