Veronica Ewers will no longer race in 2024. Fourth place in the last edition of the Giro d’Italia Women, the American from EF Education-Cannondale is forced to end the season here not because of an injury, but because of RED-S syndrome, or relative energy deficiency in sport. This condition, which can affect athletes of any level, involves a compromise of physiological functions due to poor energy availability, caused by a caloric deficit. In other words, the athlete’s nutrition is insufficient and, consequently, the energy produced by the body is not enough to support both physical exercise and normal bodily functions, also leading to serious health consequences such as cardiovascular problems, psychological and reproductive.
The 29-year-old will now rest and stay away from the bike for some time in anticipation of returning to racing in 2025: “I’m recovering from RED-S, and it was pretty clear late last year, early this year, that I was suffering from it – Ewers’ words – I had suffered a stress fracture in my heel, which prompted the team to have me undergo a scan and do some blood tests, which showed that my bone density was quite poor and that my estrogen levels were practically non-existent. I was experiencing all the symptoms of RED-S.”
“Physically, my estrogen and hormone levels are not where they should be – continued the American – So this break was a suggestion from the team as a way to completely reset, physically and mentally, to try to recover properly. I’ll take some time off the bike completely and then go from there […] Will be difficult. I have been training or playing sports quite competitively since I was 10 or 11 years old. So this is a completely new experience for me and it is very scary. It seems ridiculous that all this is scary, but it’s a leap into the unknown. I don’t know what it will be like to be out of shape and have to get out of it. Will I be stronger than before? Once I can get back into shape, what kind of cyclist will I be next? There’s a lot I don’t know, and it’s something I’m not always good at dealing with.”
