Before Van Dijk extended her contract with her Trek-Segafredo, she already mentioned that she wanted to start a family with her partner Benjamin de Bruijn, but also wanted to go for a medal at the Games. “The team was immediately open to both scenarios and that was incredibly heartwarming,” said Van Dijk.
The rider won her third time trial world title last year. She also broke the world hour record in May. “I was really looking forward to wearing the rainbow jersey at the Tour de France Femmes and Vuelta, but you can’t have everything. I am very happy to see that time trial discipline is being taken seriously in the races and hopefully they will keep this up for next year. It will also be strange not to defend my world title this year, but I think my mind will be elsewhere by then.”