Is Lizzie Deignan Really Racing La Flèche Wallonne?
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Lizzie Deignan—one of the most dominant riders in the women’s peloton—could possibly return a bit early from her maternity leave. This exciting news comes in a recent press release from ASO, the organizers behind the Ardennes classic race La Flèche Wallonne.
Per the release, “The field of champions is notably completed by Lizzie Deignan (Trek-Segafredo), returning to the competition after giving birth to her second child.”
While Trek-Segafredo haven’t announced their rosters for this season’s three Ardennes Classics (Amstel Gold Race this Sunday, La Flèche Wallonne Femmes on Wednesday, and Liège-Bastogne-Liège next Sunday), ASO has Deignan listed for the squad for Flèche Wallonne.
The former world champion announced early last year that she was expecting a second child and would be missing the 2022 season in order to focus on her family.
The hope was for her to return for this May’s edition of La Vuelta Femenina before readying for July’s Tour de France Femmes and August’s World Championships.
Per a recent report from Cyclingnews, Trek-Segafredo—to whom Deignan is signed to through 2024—has asked the 33-year-old British racer to prepare for both La Flèche-Wallonne and Liège-Bastogne-Liège, in the event she is needed.
When she first announced about the pregnancy and her impending time away from the sport last year, Deignan said in a statement, “It’s been quite an emotional experience, actually. Talking with Trek and telling them about my pregnancy, they gave me their complete support. It meant so much to me personally to have that support. I’m a professional athlete in a professional cycling team, but the support feels very personal and I’m incredibly grateful.”
Over her career, Deignan has won some of the sport’s biggest races, with victories at Paris-Roubaix Femmes, the Women’s Tour, and Liège-Bastogne-Liège.
She’s also been a vocal and high-profile advocate for the normalization of maternity leave in the women’s peloton. While maternity leave has been mandatory under UCI rules since 2018, taking time away from the bike to start or grow a family can still carry a stigma in the racing world.
It’s a myth racers like Deignan are trying to dispel.
“There has long been a stigma that motherhood and elite sports are incompatible; for years female athletes have lost support and sponsorship when they became pregnant,” wrote Rachel Jary in a recent feature on motherhood in the peloton for British cycling magazine, Rouleur which highlighted Deignan’s journey and her advocacy for a balance between elite-level competition and starting a family.
Last year was the second break Deignan took from her career in order to focus on her family. The first was a year-long sabbatical in 2018 when she was pregnant with her first child. She returned the following year and won the UK stage race, the Women’s Tour.
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