She hadn’t been seen in cyclocross for almost two years, but that changes today: Shirin van Anrooij is back. The Dutch rider is competing in the first World Cup of the season in Tábor, Czech Republic. But what can we already expect from the 23-year-old Baloise Glowi Lions rider?
Due to a narrowed pelvic artery, the all-round Dutch talent had to undergo surgery in the fall of 2024 and did not compete through the entire last winter season. The winter before that, too, she had a limited program due to circumstances, meaning we have to go back to early 2023 to see the best Van Anrooij in cyclocross. At that time, she did win the U23 World Championship and several World Cups.
It's uncertain how strong she already is, but her (much-discussed) performance at the Gravel World Championship gives good reason for hope. "It’s a bit of an adjustment," she said the day before the Tábor World Cup in an interview with the NOS. "But I’m really excited. I’ve missed cyclocross a lot. I mostly want to enjoy it and get back that cyclocross feeling."
What doesn’t work in her favor: her poor starting position. "I’m starting in the very last row because I obviously earned no UCI points in the past year. The goal is to get into the top sixteen so that in two weeks at Flamanville (for the second World Cup race, editor’s note) I can start a lot closer to the front."
Shining during the holiday season and at the Worlds
And beyond that? What does Van Anrooij’s cyclocross winter look like after Flamanville? "I’m riding the first three World Cups (Tábor, Flamanville, and Terralba, editor’s note) and then I fly straight from Sardinia to Spain for the road team’s training camp. I’m skipping the Namur cyclocross. I hope to improve week by week and want to be strong in those iconic sand races like Koksijde and Zonhoven."
Afterwards, she’ll aim for the World Championships in Hulst, which is a home Worlds for the Zeeland native Van Anrooij. "The Worlds in Hoogerheide was very special too. Because I won there in the U23 category, but also because it was just half an hour from my home in Goes. I could simply bike to the course reconnaissance. But now a Worlds in my own province, well, that’s really something special."
