Annemiek van Vleuten: "I wanted to make the difference today, and I succeeded"

Annemiek van Vleuten won another stage in the Giro d'Italia Donne. She dominated the eighth stage of the tour, gaining distance from the peloton on the last hill and winning the race without any competition at the finish line.

"It was tough," said Van Vleuten. "I wanted to make the difference today, and I succeeded. I got a good lead-out from my teammate Jelena and then attacked. It was hard to ride off the rest. But I knew that if I kept going, my stamina and my training hours would help me."

She fell off her bike during a descent four-kilometer before the finish line. "I made a stupid mistake on the descent. That's a bit disappointing about today, that I made such a stupid and unnecessary mistake - sorry mom! She's watching. But things are going well. I'm more firmly in pink now," said Van Vleuten.

She has won 2 stages and holds one silver in the tour so far, which gives her a lead of over 2 minutes in GC position. "I'm looking forward to tomorrow. The legs are good, and I have a nice lead. I'm happy. It will be a nice stage tomorrow," concluded Van Vleuten.