Pregnant Pause?

World champion track and road cyclist Lizzie Deignan announced in February that she is pregnant with her second child, due to be born in September 2022. Having continued to cycle until three days before the birth of her first child – daughter Orla, born in September 2018 – she returned to racing seven months later and won the OVO Energy Women’s Tour of Britain just nine months after giving birth.

Deignan hopes her return to the Trek–Segafredo team will be just as speedy this time, but how can women continue to enjoy cycling safely during pregnancy, and how quickly should mere mortals expect to get back on the bike after giving birth?

Sheffield-based GP Dr Andy Douglas, whose wife Rebecca Douglas continued cycling during her pregnancy in 2021 – including cycling to her pregnancy scans – says there is