So close, Miek - so close… 🥈 @AvVleuten takes 2nd at @flechewallonne #FWwomen, only behind Marta Cavalli (FDJ), after a sensational Movistar Team performance in all fronts. Super job 💙 #RodamosJuntos
Annemiek van Vleuten: "I raced exactly according to plan, so I can live with it"
CyclingThursday, 21 April 2022 at 13:00
Just as in Strade Bianche and the Tour des Flandres, Annemiek van Vleuten arrived in second place at today's Flèche Wallone after an aggressive race, where she just barely missed out on a strong win.
"I raced exactly according to plan, so I can live with it. Marta is just in great shape, she already showed that in the Amstel Gold Race. She has something extra now," van Vleuten said in a post-race interview. The 39-year old is still at the very top of women's cycling, and as is traditional she was not afraid to race aggressively today as she made a move at the Côte de Cherave with the purpose of reducing the number of contenders into the final climb, successfully.
“In other years I always made a mistake, but now I was able to do exactly what I wanted. Thanks to the team that helped me a lot in the final. If I could blame myself I would be angry. But now I'm here with a nice second place. I fought and left nothing behind," she added. With Sierra pacing the group into the climb, van Vleuten took up the pace when the gradients steeped, just inside the final kilometer, and was not shy of pacing the group up the entire final climb.
As she got a gap in the steep switchback halfway through the steep section of the ascent, it seemed as if she was off to her first win in the race, but as luck would have it she later got the company of Marta Cavalli who had the legs to respond, and beat van Vleuten in the end: “I had to go really deep, it went black before my eyes. I don't often. She [Cavalli] came next to me and I wanted to keep giving everything until the finish. I thought: I was still raking it out of my little toe, but it turned completely black before my eyes. I have been knocked down," she concluded.
Having found strong competition this year, she hasn't been able to gather as many wins as her legs seemed to be capable of, however she will have one more opportunity this spring as she will be one of the main favourites this weekend at Liège-Bastogne-Liège.
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