It’s been a long road to recovery, but Mara Roldan is finally starting to feel like herself again. The roller coaster ride of recovery back in 2025. The WorldTour rider had a terrible crash in the Tour of Britain, just 24 hours after winning a stage.
The rest of the year and off-season was an emotional and physical journey. But she persevered.
Coming back from the first comeback
After finally getting back to training, she jumped back into racing. Roldan knew it wouldn’t be easy–and certainly, Omloop Het Nieuwsblad as your first competition in months and months is definitely a tough one, but she was happy to be back in the mix.
But once again, she encountered another snag. Roldan was struck by a driver near her home in Sittard, The Netherlands, suffering another concussion just as she was beginning to rebuild momentum just days after her first race back.
Recovery included specialized treatment in Switzerland focused on retraining her vestibular system, balance and spatial awareness.
Finding her legs again
The 22-year-old from Whitehorse returned to stage racing last week at the three-day Itzulia Women in Spain, finishing 69th overall for her Picnic PostNL team. The result itself was secondary. For Roldan, just being back in the bunch and racing on instinct again felt like a breakthrough.
“Honestly, the little trip from the Basque Country was a lot of fun,” Roldan said afterward. “My fitness was lacking. I found myself using up the climbs a little more than I would have liked. But at the same time, every second I was there, I wasn’t thinking about my leg or my head. That in itself was so freeing, and a win in my books.”
Magdeleine Vallières-Mill in the mix at Itzulia Women
The comeback(s) have hardly been straightforward, but in recent weeks, however, progress has finally started to outweigh setbacks.
On setting realistic goals
Roldan said she came into Itzulia knowing three weeks of training would not magically restore top form, and admitted she was “digging very deep every stage.” Still, there were flashes of the rider she remembers.
A few days before Itzulia, she finished a solid 23rd at the one-day Navarra Women’s Elite Classic, and was even in the break. She admitted she definitely felt it, but it was nice to be in the mix again.
“Especially being able to get in the break in Navarra, that was some good fun,” she said. “Just definitely feeling like my old self a little bit — just not exactly as strong yet.”
More than anything, she said being back in the rhythm of professional racing again has lifted her mentally.
“Finally being able to do what I love again is the best feeling,” Roldan said. “Back with the team, back with the girls, getting back into this routine of racing and training and recovering, it’s the best feeling. I kind of forgot how nice it was, and I really missed it.”
The Canadian said the week in Spain gave her confidence that her body is adapting again, even if the form is still coming.
“Genuinely, lots of positives came out of this last week,” she said.
Next up is another major step in her return: the Giro d’Italia Women, where she is expected to line up.
“I’m really excited,” she said. “Even if it’s a bit of shelling myself every stage, I’m so motivated and ready to do that. Just to be there helping the team out, feeling like I’m contributing and having fun along the way, that’s always the important mentally.”
After a gruelling stretch and months away from normal life, Roldan said she is finally in a better place again.
“I’m finally in a place where I’m just really happy and positive again,” she said. “That’s nice after the last few months.”
Mischa Bredewold (Team SD Worx–Protime) took another win at Itzulia, and there was a strong Canadian contingent there. Sherbrooke’s Magdeleine Vallières Mill was consistent throughout, finishing 13th overall. Her EF Education–Oatly teammate Alexandra Völstad was there working hard for the world champ, finishing 75th overall.