TUCSON, Ariz (KGUN). — If you were anywhere near last year’s El Tour de Tucson, you probably heard the name Chloé Dygert. She won the women’s professional division in 2024, adding it to an already stacked resume that includes four Olympic medals. And now she is back in Tucson, but this time she is not racing for herself.
Dygert, a three-time Olympian with one gold, one silver and two bronze medals, is returning as a domestique, helping another cyclist chase their own El Tour goals. She is also spending the week at Prologue Camp, where riders train with and learn from top professionals ahead of Saturday’s race.
She said coming back as the defending champion is fun, even if her role looks different this year.
“A race is a race, you know, no matter how big or how small. I want to win everything I'm at the start line for,” Dygert explains.
So, how does competing at El Tour de Tucson compare to the Olympic stage? “Some people can falter under the pressure at the Olympic Games, they can falter the pressure here,” Dygert says, “and that's why I always look at every race the same no matter what it is.”
About five years into her professional career, Dygert says she experienced an accident that has taught her a lot.
“The year before I crashed was the best year that I had,” Dygert says, “since then, I’ve not won a lot, and I've really learned how to lose and I hate to say that's the thing, but yeah, it's really taught me… it's really taught me a lot.”
Through all the setbacks and challenges, Dygert explains the encouragement she receives from young cyclists helps keep her going.
“I could quit. I could, but you know it's those little kids, it's those small voices I get messages from, I hear from, and just telling me how thankful they are that I keep going and that I’m a strong voice, that I'm somebody that they can look up to,” Dygert explains.
Professional cycling wasn’t always her dream growing up.
“I was going to be Larry Bird playing basketball. That didn't work out. So, cycling was kind of the thing that my dad really pushed me into doing because it was something that they always did. I really didn't like it. I didn't want to do it. I hated it. But I just kept going and just stuck with it, and I was really good.”
Dygert explains she has no plans to slow down. She is aiming for three or four events at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
She also said Tucson has become one of her favorite places to train and compete. After long rides up Mount Lemmon, she said she often ends up at Le Buzz with fellow cyclists.
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Athena Kehoe is a reporter for KGUN 9, she joined the KGUN 9 team in July of 2024 after graduating from Arizona State University. Share your story ideas with Athena by emailing athena.kehoe@kgun9.com or by connecting on X/Twitter.
