TOUR interview
The Interview was led by Tim Farin
TOUR: Before we talk about success, why don't you tell us where you were last year when Ellen van Dijk became world champion in the individual time trial?
Chloé Dygert: I was at my father's house in Indiana, where I grew up. I didn't watch anything, it meant nothing to me, I only read the results afterwards - but I didn't care about those either. It didn't do anything to me.
TOUR: Did you feel any envy?
Chloé Dygert: No, no envy. It was difficult for me, but above all frustrating to miss the World Championships again. There was something wrong with me again, so I couldn't take part. That's where real frustration comes in, and it's about myself.
TOUR: You had several operations after your bad crash at the 2020 World Championships in Imola; you also contracted the Epstein-Barr virus, which left you permanently weakened, and you also had to undergo heart surgery. How did you feel after two lost years?
Chloé Dygert: When I look back, there is always this one moment. Everything I had to deal with in the two years after my crash in Imola, I could have prevented: everything from about 30 seconds before my crash - everything that happened afterwards, the ups and downs, the operations. I had to come to terms with the fact that everything I went through was my own fault. The reason I was in this bad position was myself.
TOUR: A tough analysis ...
Chloé Dygert: Of course, even if I could, I wouldn't revise any of my experiences - this is my life's journey and I'm proud of it. But when I look back, it's about responsibility. I don't blame anyone for anything. I'm the only one to blame for my fall. I had a big lead in the time trial and took unnecessary risks. After that, I didn't choose the right surgeon, which is why I had to have three operations. I kept making mistakes and that's why it took me longer to come back.
TOUR: Did you believe that you would come back?
Chloé Dygert: Yes, because I had already won. I had the feeling that the people around me believed in me, that they wouldn't give up. That helped me, especially with Team Canyon//SRAM. Before this season, Magnus and Mario (Bäckstedt and Vonhof, your sporting directors, editor's note) came to me and we talked for an hour. That's when I realised that they weren't just doing their job, but that they were genuinely interested in my well-being. When I heard them talking about me, a lot of anger, frustration and pressure fell away. This honest support has changed everything. When I feel a bit ill, Magnus says to me: "Take care of yourself first." Nobody pushes me into a hole - I always did that myself before. I'm also working with Kristin Armstrong again (two-time world champion and three-time Olympic time trial champion, Dygert's personal coach, editor's note), which has made a small difference again in getting me to the highest level.
TOUR: Then tell us about your comeback: What do you remember about your double World Championship triumph in Scotland?
Chloé Dygert: Of course I was proud to be on the top step of the podium again. But I would have expected an overwhelming feeling of happiness before winning the time trial - but that didn't happen, on the contrary. I still ask myself why not? I expected the victories because I worked so meticulously for them. In the individual pursuit on the track, I shook my head at the finish line because I hadn't achieved the world record. I didn't even take the American flag because I was so angry. I asked myself: What was I thinking? But I was just frustrated because I have such high expectations of myself. And that's also the reason why I crashed in Imola back then - I already had a half-minute lead. But I thought that wasn't enough.
TOUR: I've read that the "Rocky" films mean a lot to you. They're also about comebacks. Do you see yourself in a similar role to Rocky?
Chloé Dygert: I've never seen it like that before. I spontaneously think of "Rocky III", how cocky he was going into the first fight against Clubber Lang. He lost. Then he thought he was finished, but he got back into shape. His wife Adrian talked some sense into him and he won again. That story means something to me. I try to stay humble. I never go into a race thinking that everything will go right. I always feel unprepared, slower than the other girls. If I go in there thinking, oh, I'm going to win, I'm the best, I would have already lost the race.
TOUR: Were you afraid of losing your life after your serious crash in Imola?
Chloé Dygert: No, at no time. When it happened, I didn't even realise that my leg had been cut open. I turned round, wanted to see if my bike was still there, wanted to get back on the road. I freaked out because I was too far away - a "pity party". Then my sports director arrived, he held me down and pushed my head down. Then I thought: OK, something must be wrong. When I lifted my head, I thought: Thank God, that's a good excuse. I remember the doctors' questions, the realisation that my thigh wasn't broken, the thought that I was fine. I would never have thought that a femoral artery could be severed. I even fainted when I got to the hospital because I had lost so much blood.
TOUR: In an interview about these three years, you said that your "life sometimes meant nothing to you".
Chloé Dygert: There were days when I didn't care if I was alive or dead, to be honest. I mean, there was just so much going on and I really didn't care. There were really bad days.
I always feel unprepared, slower than the other girls
TOUR: One of your former team-mates, Kelly Catlin, took her own life. Was that a stressful experience for you?
Chloé Dygert: I remember going into the funeral parlour with my team-mate Jennifer (Valente). There I saw Kelly in her coffin. We were standing there arm in arm, it was the first time I felt like I was really experiencing death up close. It did something to us in that moment. I can't even describe the moment and what it was like for the family and everyone else who was part of it.
TOUR: Catlin was said to have developed depression as a result of a concussion. Is there anything that can be learnt from this case that can be applied to cycling in general?
Chloé Dygert: I don't think so. I think mental health is very important. But Kelly's story has nothing to do with mine. I don't think you can really learn anything from a case like that. I think I was strong enough, with or without Kelly's story, or I knew there was enough love for me not to do something like that.
TOUR: You have a cross tattooed on the back of your neck and you quote from the Bible. What does faith mean to you?
Chloé Dygert: In the end, God has a plan for me. I may not agree with it, but I have to accept it. Losing a race hurts. Faith played a big part in my victories in Glasgow. I can't tell you how many times I prayed and got down on my hands and knees every day to get through that time trial. It could still have gone either way. But for me that was the deciding factor, that's my faith and it's part of my plan.
TOUR: You once said: "There are too many mentally and physically soft people in the world. It's unbelievable how soft people are." That sounds very harsh.
Chloé Dygert: I'm hard on myself, but I think I've learnt compassion over the past three years. I don't show it often, but when I do, it's genuine. When Marlen Reusser came off her bike during the world championship time trial (the Swiss co-favourite ended the race surprisingly after 16 kilometres, citing motivation problems as the reason, editor's note), I could relate to that. Even if I had acted differently, I still have respect. I still believe that many people are soft, some even very soft. But I have realised that there are people who deserve compassion.
TOUR: Your parents were separated, you spent a lot of time with your father and with your older brother. Did that make you so tough?
Chloé Dygert: I think my brother Gunner played a big part in me being tough. I had no other choice with him and my cousins. We have a great sibling love. I'm allowed to talk shit about him, nobody else is. I've hated his guts too. But at the end of the day, I love him. He got me into sport, he cycled - and I just wanted to be like my brother.
TOUR: Why don't you tell us what makes you such a strong athlete?
Chloé Dygert: That's exactly the kind of question where I have the feeling that answering it would make me sound arrogant. Do you know what I mean?
TOUR: You have also formulated the goal of becoming the Eddy Merckx of women's cycling. If you take a closer look at Merckx, you realise that his dominance arose from a feeling of insecurity ...
Chloé Dygert: Yes, well: there we have it. It's difficult to explain without sounding conceited. I've just won two world titles, but I'm disappointed that I didn't do better. I wonder how I can perform at the level that Merckx did. I've looked at the suit, the bike he used to set his world hour record in 1972 - it's still better than the current women's record. Merckx can go to bed every night knowing that he did everything he could. He can say: "I was the best." At the end of my career, I want to feel the same way. I want to achieve all the goals I have.
TOUR: How would you like to develop as a racing cyclist?
Chloé Dygert: I want to be balanced in a healthy and strong way. When I'm on the start line, I want it to be about the fact that I could win. I hope and pray that I will have a long career - and the space to achieve many goals, such as winning the Tour de France or another tour. But I'm not going to push myself too hard, I'm going to make my career as safe and healthy as possible. Everything in its own time.
TOUR: Is the Olympics your next main goal? The US team doesn't look very competitive on the track at the moment.
Chloé Dygert: Clearly. In Paris it's all about the individual time trial, my most important goal for the coming year. But I also have my eye on the road race. This was my first year in Europe, I've seen where I stand compared to the others. That gives me confidence for 2024, when I want to gain experience on the road. I don't know yet whether I'll take part in the team pursuit on the track. I only want to do it if we can win.
More about Chloé Dygert
Chloé Dygert was born on 1 January 1997 in Brownsburg in the US state of Indiana. She initially played basketball ambitiously at school before turning to cycling following a shoulder injury. In 2015, Dygert won the US junior titles in the road race and individual time trial and also won the world championship titles in both disciplines in the same year.
At her first Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro (2016), she rode to silver in the track four; she became world champion in the individual time trial for the first time in 2019. The following year, she had a serious crash at the World Championships in Imola. At the World Championships in Glasgow in August, Dygert won the single pursuit on the track and the individual time trial on the road.
