Annemiek van Vleuten normally has her emotions well under control. She saves the tears that you regularly see with winners of cycling races – both for women and men – for special moments: the Olympic gold in the time trial in Tokyo last year, for example. Or her world title in the same event in 2017.
So the fight that Van Vleuten had to blink out of her eyes after her second win in Liège-Bastogne-Liège (LBL) this Sunday said a lot about the value she places on this achievement. “Winning has become so much more difficult,” she sighed into the organization’s microphone afterwards. “I am better than ever this spring, but there are no guarantees anymore. There is much more opposition.”
Van Vleuten had deliberately aimed her arrows at this ‘monument’. Now that more and more major cycling races are organizing an edition for women, the race calendar is taking on a full-fledged shape. Every weekend there is a big game. But it is almost impossible to be good every week, says cycling commentator Danny Nelissen. “You can’t drive around with a tight bow everywhere, so the riders have to plan their season better.”
The riders are forced to specialize and choose races that suit them. Gone are the days when the same riders could win a big lap, mountain stage and bunch sprint. For example, Demi Vollering, who won LBL last year, chose to skip Paris-Roubaix – her climbing qualities and final shot come in handy in the Ardennes hills than on the flat cobblestone sections in northern France. She finally came in third on Sunday.
Attacks on final climbs
Van Vleuten also dropped Paris-Roubaix and that decision paid off. Everyone knew what she was going to do: attack on the last climbs to try to get away. She did and it worked. First she attacked the penultimate pimple Côte de la Redoute; a deliberate tactic, she said afterwards. “If it didn’t work out there, I’d still have a chance.”
That chance lay on the Côte de la Roche-aux-Faucons. Again Van Vleuten pushed on, this time a small hole fell behind her. Normally not enough to stay away with the wind from the front, but Van Vleuten is not an Olympic time trial champion for nothing. „I went full in time trial mode”, she said, and that proved enough. She crossed the finish line cheering.
It was the 89th professional victory for Van Vleuten, who will turn forty in October. She doesn’t seem to have any signs of wear and tear: this season she already won Omloop Het Nieuwsblad and finished second in the Tour of Flanders, Strade Bianche and the Waalse Pijl. “My strength may also come with my age,” she said afterwards. Nelissen does not see her retiring from cycling for the time being: “She takes such good care of her body. She has a huge physique. And why stop when you’re still so good?”
Van Vleuten is now taking two weeks of rest, and then the preparations for her next goal begin: she wants to win the Tour de France for women in July.