After experiencing unusual sensations in her left leg during the second half of the road racing season, Shirin van Anrooij was diagnosed with a narrowing of her external iliac artery. On 31st October, Shirin underwent a successful surgery to widen the artery. The plan now is for Sharon to spend an extended period of rest before returning to training and later racing.
Unfortunately, this means that Shirin will miss the cyclocross season, as well as the first months of the road season. She is expected to return to competition on the road in May with Lidl-Trek.
“After some hard months on and off the bike, we finally got to the bottom of what was causing me problems in my left leg,” Shirin explained. “I have had successful surgery to repair a narrowing of my external iliac artery. It was definitely a scary discovery at first, but everything went well and I am happy that I can now start my recovery.”
“I have a long journey in front of me,” she continued. “It will be around six months until I can properly think about racing again so, sadly this will mean no CX for me in 2024/2025, but I’ll be watching and cheering for everyone all season. All the support I have received from my friends, family, team staff and teammates has been incredible! It’s made this process a lot easier so, I want to thank everyone who has been with me every step of the way through this.”
