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From Paris-Roubaix and unbound gravel to the Giro d’Italia, Tour de France, Vuelta a Espana and everything in between when you>”,”name”:”in-content-cta”,”type”:”link” }}”>join from outside+.
Ayesha McGowan finally made her dream come true last year by earning a WorldTour contract with LIV Racing Xtra, but less than two months later it came to an abrupt end.
McGowan had suffered from digestive problems for more than five years, but the problem surfaced early last year when she was struggling to eat enough to sustain herself.
Just six races, five of which ended with DNFs, into his season, the 35-year-old had to pull the plug on his program.
After undergoing medical tests, McGowan was diagnosed with uterine fibroids and underwent surgery in June. Now fully recovered and with another one-year contract on the table with the team, now called Liv Racing Techfind, he is raring to go.
“I’m so excited. I just want to go. I think over the years, I’ve had such huge training stretches to prepare for things, and then something happened. And so I really want a full season this year.” and finally show myself what I can do,” McGowan told velo news,
“I look at it like before surgery and after surgery. I’m so much better after surgery, like, all around much healthier, all around happier, a lot less stressed. It was really frustrating.
“Not just the load of training that I can handle, but not being able to eat food and my body not functioning the way it needs to exist, let alone be a professional athlete, is incredibly was challenging. Now that I can do things, it feels great.”
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Uterine fibroids are growths made of muscle and fibrous tissue that can develop in the womb and can be as small as a pea or as large as a watermelon. They are non-cancerous, but they can still cause pain and, in some circumstances, digestive problems.
McGowan’s troubles began in 2016, but doctors were unable to diagnose the problem. Initially, it was a manageable problem, but it kept getting worse until it came to a head in early 2022.
When she saw a doctor in Spain, he was amazed that she was able to continue working.
In all, surgeons removed 12 fibroids from McGowan. The fibrous masses were pressing on his organs, preventing his body from functioning.
“It was so frustrating, and I just couldn’t figure it out. Over time, it just got worse and worse and there didn’t seem to be a solution, because there didn’t seem to be a problem. Things were wrong, but nobody knew what is that.
“When I was in America, I didn’t get a clear diagnosis that it was related to gastrointestinal issues. I was told it’s not a problem, it’s okay and I can deal with it later. And I’m like, ‘I don’t. Know. I feel like that’s the only thing my body is telling me is wrong.’ Last season was so bad.In the beginning, I couldn’t function.
“I went to the gynecologist in Girona. He basically yelled at me. ‘Why did you wait so long to fix it?’ It was blocking my intestines and it was moving things around my organs. It was really bad. They didn’t know how I was walking around every day.
back to normal and running
After recovering from surgery, McGowan is completely in the clear about the digestive issues she’s been battling for so long.
Eating had become such a challenge for her that she made a spreadsheet detailing what foods she could and could not eat, color coding them in red for the uninitiated. Most of them were red.
Even fairly benign foods such as tomatoes and green vegetables were difficult to eat. Now the world of food is at her fingertips, but it’s not easy getting comfortable with food when you’ve spent so much time worrying about what it will do to you.
“Psychologically, it has had a huge impact, as my diet had changed drastically,” McGowan explained. velo news, “I couldn’t eat anything and so it has led to some food insecurities, where I am afraid of a lot of things. I am more cautious than I was before all this happened, and so now I am learning to trust I know I can eat one thing and it won’t make me feel terrible.
“I’m working with a nutritionist and right now we’re focusing on quantity over quality. A big problem I’ve had in the past is I wasn’t eating enough because food was scary, and so Now the focus is on making sure I’m eating.
With his health concerns behind him, McGowan can focus on finally taking up the opportunity to race in the WorldTour. She knows from her time as a stagnant that she has what it takes to mix with the pro peloton, but she hasn’t had the opportunity to really push herself all season.
This season is all about doing that and supporting your teammates as best you can.
“I’ve never had a full European season and so I’m really looking forward to finding my comfort zone in the peloton. I’m generally quite bold, not aggressive, but an adventurous kind of racer, I just need to sit Don’t like to see what happens,” she said.
“I really like being a part of things and so I’m really hoping I can find it. The fitness and confidence are the same again because I race bikes because I love it. I love how much fun it is.” Looks, and I really want to have fun. I think it’s fun to do and fun to watch. I think it’s great for the sport when people brazenly race.
This year will also give McGowan a chance to see what kind of bike racer she can be and what races really suit her.
“When I started, just because of the nature of American racing, I favored being a sprinter,” she said. “I don’t feel like I’m a super sprinter anymore and I don’t even feel like I’m a super climber. I’m something in between, so I think trying to make myself as versatile as possible benefits me.” Will be. I do not consider myself an expert in any of these directions. I identify as a punker, but we’ll see.
“Bike racing wasn’t that much fun last year because of bad health. So this year, I’m really looking forward to having a good time and finding those favorite races.
