The Netherlands' Ellen van Dijk may have feared her Paris Olympics hopes were over when she broke her ankle at a training camp in Spain last month, but the master of quick comebacks will be among the favorites to win the time trial on Saturday.

The three-time world champion in the discipline finished eighth in her first appearance in 2012 and fourth in Rio 2016, and is looking for her first medal at the 2024 Olympics.

Van Dijk subsequently missed out on a second chance to try again in Tokyo and was not selected for the highly ranked Dutch national team.

“I thought it was over,” van Dijk said of breaking his right ankle in June and needing surgery.

“At that moment you don't know how fast you will recover.

“I clung to the fact that I was able to get back on the bike three weeks after my pregnancy and felt good ....... Of course, it wasn't the same, but I was feeling so good when I fell that I knew my levels would be back soon.” In other words, the 37-year-old rider, who won World Time Trial Championship titles in 2013, 2021, and 2022, hopes to finally get a chance to step on the podium at his third Olympics.

“It's my dream,” van Dijk said. “I didn't have the ideal preparation, and that might affect [the race]. Being here is special and I want to enjoy it.”

To the Dutchman's advantage is the flat 32.4-km course from the Invalides to the Alexandre III Bridge in Paris.

“It suits me. It's a very beautiful course with a lot of power, a lot of straight riding, not very technical.

What no one needs to deal with, however, is an ankle that has yet to recover.

“It doesn't bother me on the bike, and that's the most important thing. I don't need the brace anymore.” Walking is harder than cycling, but it's not a walking problem.”

“My ankle still doesn't move much, but on the bike it's fine. I don't have to worry about it. I just can't take the pedals off, and I don't need to in time trials.”

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