The most successful mountain biker in history, Anne Caroline Chausson,withdrew from the Enduro World Series race in Samoens last year with a mysterious illness that is now revealed to be ovarian cancer.

In an interview with Ibis bikes, Chausson admitted that she had been told during the race she was suffering with cancer and had to pull out immediately for a course of operations and chemotherapy.

The good news is that Chausson believes she has recovered from the illness after seven months of treatment and is hoping to be back on her bike and racing at the Whistler round of the Enduro World Series in August.

Chausson said: “During the winter 2014/2015, sometimes I had painful stomach aches. I went through periods of feeling great and periods of fatigue. But I was not too worried about it. In late March, I went to New Zealand and I won the first round of the Enduro World Series.”

“The return was difficult and I was slow to recover. In late May, during the round in Scotland, I was tired, I had a stomach ache and I was not feeling well. When I returned home to France, I could not recover. I thought it was because of overtraining.

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“Then I decided to do a blood test. We saw that there was a lack of red blood cells, which is quite surprising for an athlete. Then in late June, I raced the Coupe de France of Enduro in Millau. I won, but I was very very tired. When back, I did an MRI. Waiting for the results, I went to the EWS mid-July in Samoens. I left because I was not really good. Then I got the MRI results. At the hospital, the doctor warned me that I had a tumor to be removed”

Speaking about the future, she added: “I need a goal, because I’ve always lived this way. Today, what will help me is telling myself that I will return to race. Without cutting corners. It will allow me to re-mobilize and be back in shape faster. I’m sure about that. I hope to start doing smaller competitions in June, without specific performance goals.

“My real goal is to be able to finish a big enduro race by August. I want to go to Whistler on August 13 and finish the race. If I would race downhill or cross country, I think it would be really easy to get to the finish. On the other hand, I’m not able to spend 6 hours on a bike for 3-4 days for now, honestly speaking. But this goal will allow me to motivate me, after seven months without making real sport.”

We wish Chausson all the best in her future recovery and return to racing. You can read the full interview here