Cyclist Marianne Vos from Babyloniënbroek has started the new cycling year very strongly. She won the first spring race of 2024. “I couldn’t have dreamed that I would make my debut here like this,” said 36-year-old Vos afterwards.
It was the first time that Vos participated in the Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, a race between Ghent and Ninove. After 127 kilometers, Vos won the sprint from a group of four. Belgian world champion Lotte Kopecky finished second in this spring classic.
“This means a lot to me,” Vos said after the finish. “Especially to open the season like this. It was a tough race and then you have to wait and see what you have left in your legs. Kopecky also rode a very strong race and it took a few efforts to keep up. I am very happy with this.”
Along the way, Vos had beer thrown at her from the audience at Geraardsbergen, but it didn’t bother her. She is the eighth Dutch winner in the last eleven years. Since 2014, Dutch riders Annemiek van Vleuten (twice), Anna van der Breggen (twice), Chantal van den Broek-Blaak, Lucinda Brand and Amy Pieters have won the Omloop.
Operation
The cycling year ended early for Vos in 2023. She had surgery in August to repair a femoral artery in her pelvis. She had been suffering from pain for a long time and lacked strength in her left leg. Vos then hoped to return to the cycling peloton without complaints.
“I would like to continue riding at the highest level and will do my utmost to come back,” said Vos just after the operation last year. With the victory in Omloop het Nieuwsblad she seems to be completely back.
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Marianne Vos operated on an artery in her pelvis
Marianne Vos receives treatment for narrowing of the iliac artery