Van der Duin Injury: Track Rider Crash Details

Van der Duin suffers from “inflammations throughout the body”, and they do not just go away. She has been struggling with it for almost two years now. The first thing she noticed: weight gain.

“At that time (spring 2024, ed.) I was going through a bad period. I broke my ankle in the winter and then also lost my father. When I arrived, I first thought it was a stress reaction of my body to grieving and rehabilitation. In addition, in my head it was simple: if I gain weight, I will eat too much. Period. I couldn’t think logically at the time, after all, I had to and would go to the Olympic Games.”

“That trajectory was… ” Van der Duin is silent for a moment. “I don’t want to say inhumane, but when I look back on it I think: how did I keep up with that.” She ignored her body’s signs and worked maniacally towards the Games. Even within the national selection, people wondered why she ate so little. “That led to heated discussions.”

But in the short term it did bring her success, because in Paris she won Olympic bronze in the pairs race together with Lisa van Belle. “Once I got to the Games, I enjoyed it so much. It wasn’t even because of the medal. I was at peace with every result, because I already felt so bad there that I was just proud and happy to be there.”

Then she took a rest. She even skipped the World Cup track in Denmark. She gave her body time to recover for six weeks. Twice longer than normal at the end of the season.

However, it didn’t help. She continued to struggle with her weight – it was not unusual for her to gain three kilos in a week – and felt bad about herself. Her body also responded poorly to training. Yet she still became European champion together with Van Belle.

However, it was impossible to maintain and halfway through the classic spring Van der Duin collapsed completely. “After a five-hour workout, I sometimes only ate two sandwiches.”

She became ill, recovered poorly and suffered a lot from her skin. When she grabbed her arm or calf with her fingers, it burned terribly.

No one really knew what was going on at the time and so she rode the Vuelta. “I cried there every day. I didn’t make any progress at all. Then I communicated to the team: I don’t understand what is wrong with me, I want to figure this out.”

“I didn’t work with the team nutritionist until that moment, because I wanted someone who understood Dutch eating habits. We then came into contact with each other and she quickly said: ‘Maike, this is really not because of what you eat’. Then the medical examinations started.”

After a while, she found answers: the weight gain was not fat, but fluid. On a cellular level, so she couldn’t sweat it out. Her body screamed for rest. After her last race, the Tour of Britain in June, she did not touch the bike for twelve weeks.

In the meantime, Van der Duin’s smile has returned. “It has now stabilized. I no longer gain weight and my skin no longer hurts when I squeeze it. The moisture just needs to go away. That will take a long time, and I have no idea when I will be able to race again.”

Van der Duin can also train again. Less than normal, but she is slowly regaining herself. She recently completed a four-hour training session with a few other professional riders. And that went well.

“What I found particularly special is that during such a period you really notice who loves you. For example, I visit my mother more often now, or help my friend on the farm. My niece sent me a text every day when I felt at my worst. That meant a lot to me.”

“The difficult thing is: there is no end date for this injury. It is very different from a broken collarbone, for example. Maybe I will be fit in six months, maybe only in two years. I have no idea. That is so frustrating.”

But watching the World Cup pairs race, where Lorena Wiebes has taken her place next to Van Belle, is probably a bridge too far. “I don’t think I can do that yet. It will be a little harder for me to fall asleep that evening.”