Annemiek van Vleuten doesn't classify Ceratizit Challenge by La Vuelta as a grand tour - "If you look at the course, you can conclude that the Vuelta is not ready to call itself a grand tour yet"

In Annemiek van Vleuten's opinion, the Ceratizit Challenge by La Vuelta is not yet a true grand tour.

Van Vleuten has already won the Giro d’Italia Donne and the Tour de France Femmes earlier this season, while many believe her winning La Vuelta will make it three grand tour wins she disagrees with it. “People say I can win three Grand Tours, but if you look at the course, you can conclude that the Vuelta is not ready to call itself a grand tour yet,” Van Vleuten wrote on her website.

She defends her argument with, “It’s a five-day stage race that I’m really looking forward to, but with an average of 96 kilometers per day, I hope that the organization will wake up and see why the Giro and Tour can be called a grand tour, but theirs not. In many respects, they are still in the beginning of this course. They have been around for a number of years, but hopefully, the Tour will also allow them to develop more.”

Her team Movistar finished in 5th place in the TT stage of La Vuelta, but she can still change the GC in her favor .“The second day is the difficult stage. I’m very motivated to make it a great race. If I want to make a difference, it will have to be the first two days,” concluded Van Vleuten.