The 22-year-old from the Netherlands crashed on stage 4 of the OVO Energy Women's Tour in Britain in June, and said that she immediately knew her year was over.
"Together with the doctors and Danny [Stam, manager], I decided not to start pushing myself as quickly as possible, but to really take time to let everything heal. The focus was on the 2019 season straight away," Van den Bos said on the team's website.
"I spent six weeks laying down on the couch and moving around in a wheelchair," she continued. "After that, I could start rebuilding step by step. Via our team doctor, I was referred to a pelvic specialist at the Academic Medical Centre in Amsterdam, and they helped me a lot."
However, Van den Bos was able to recover in time to race the Tour de Okinawa criterium in Japan in mid-November, where she finished third.
"The Tour de Okinawa gave me a goal to train towards. It was really motivating," she said. "And I also noticed that I came back more motivated than before. I'm much more looking forward to the winter now, and of course to start a proper season again next year."
Boels Dolmans recently announced that Van den Bos had been handed a contract extension, meaning that she can now try to put the bad parts of 2018 behind her, build on went well, and prepare herself for the new season in 2019, when she'll be looking for her first pro victory.
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Highlights of 2018 for Van den Bos included second place at the Rabobank 7-Dorpenomloop Aalburg one-day race and second at the Volta Limburg Classic.
"I finished second twice, and that in itself is not something that makes me happy, but it does give me confidence that I am good enough to win, too.
"I really enjoy being part of the team and I feel good with the riders and the staff," continued Van den Bos. "After two years, I feel truly at home in this team. I've received great support when I was injured and I feel that the team has trust in me. My ambition is to play a bigger role in the finals, so I can support my teammates to the end – but also to play the game until the finish line."
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