In France, Van den Bos crashed during an attack. Apart from a slight headache, nothing seemed wrong at first. However, the impact of the fall turned out to be more severe than expected and the rider had to skip the remaining season. “I started very well in the first races last year. Then I also got through the period without races without any problems. I really enjoyed the training and I noticed that I was making progress. I started the second part of the season with confidence again. Unfortunately, I crashed in one of the first races. It wasn’t even hard, but it was an unfortunate crash which resulted in a concussion.”

After a long period of recovery, she is now busy building up her activities again. “Of course, I was still riding for my old team at the time, but the contact with Team Jumbo-Visma was already so good that they supported me from the start. It has been a very long and difficult time, but fortunately things are now moving in the right direction.”

By not competing in any races in the first part of the season, Van den Bos hopes to appear at the start of the second part of the season fully recovered. “In my situation, it is most important not to set a deadline. You have no influence on how long it takes. Of course, I hope I can return to racing as soon as possible, but at the moment I am already happy to be able to build up my strength again in the training sessions.”