Annemiek van Vleuten sees opportunities in World Cup time trial: ‘This is a course I’m looking forward to’ | Sport

Van Vleuten, last weekend winner of the Vuelta for women, will start at 10.56 am, as the last in the second of three starting groups. In the Netherlands it is eight hours earlier.

In 2017 and 2018, Van Vleuten (39) was already world time trial champion. Last year in Bruges, two months after winning the Olympic title, she finished third behind winner Ellen van Dijk and the Swiss Marlen Reusser. ,,This is definitely a course that suits me more than last year, when it was all a long straight punch.”

In Wollongong, a coastal town below Sydney, two rounds of more than 17 kilometers have to be completed, in which there is a small slope. Van Vleuten feared the number of bends, but that turned out to be not too bad when exploring the course. ,,The roads are generally so wide that you can stay on your handlebars in many bends. Yet it is a time trial that you really have to do by feel, because there is a lot of variety in it. You are constantly shifting, with bits up and bits down. It is not a time trial that you can ‘ram’ at a certain wattage, like last year on all those long straights. This is a course I am looking forward to.”

Van Vleuten will compete in the mixed team time trial on Wednesday and will be one of the top favorites in the road race next Saturday. ,,There are some altimeters in the road race. There is a difficult 8 kilometer climb, but it is already at the beginning and we only do it once. Then we will drive rounds of 17 kilometers. Technically, with many corners and one climb comparable to the Cauberg.”