Annemiek van Vleuten on shock World Championships win: "I was a domestique with a broken elbow and now I am world champion"

Annemiek van Vleuten was a prime contender to take the rainbow jersey in Wollongong, but everything changed after she crashed on the Mixed Relay TTT and suffered a fracture in her elbow that put her race in jeopardy. However, despite the setbacks, the Dutch rider managed to take the title.

“I can't believe it! I'm actually waiting for someone to come to me and tell me it's not true, van Vleuten said in a post-race interview. "In the final phase I was always looking back at Marianne Vos. I felt they were not coming back. I also knew I couldn't sprint with my broken elbow. I had to attack from behind. That was the only chance I had," she said in a flash interview.

What had happened was that van Vleuten was at the right place at the right time. After Demi Vollering was absent due to Covid-19, van Vleuten rode alongside Marianne Vos when the main moves came in the penultimate lap. The chasing group returned to the front, but van Vleuten found herself again on the backfoot after the final climb as she was dropped, and was then the only member of the Netherlands within range of a top place.

“The pain was hell. I couldn't get out of the saddle all day, I had to stay put all the time. My legs exploded on every climb. I had such a different plan for Wednesday than now… I already wanted to attack Mount Keira in the opening lap. But my race was completely different now," she explained. "Marianne was the only head lady. I was a domestique with a broken elbow and now I am world champion!”

The finale was set for a sprint as the two front groups connected inside the final kilometer. Van Vleuten attacked from the bottom of the group, and was surprisingly not followed by anyone. With the gap she quickly carved out, it was enough to hold the competition, winning in a very unexpected way.

After taking the win in 2019 in Yorkshire, this was her second World Title. “Both titles have a story, but they are very different... Actually I wanted to do a Yorkshire 2.0 today. But that was not possible due to the fracture of the elbow…”

“Now I attack in the last kilometer, a completely different story. Now I am world champion in my last year of my career," she added, noting that 2023 will be her last season in the peloton. "That's why I was so disappointed with that elbow at first. After Yorkshire I wore my rainbow jersey in the COVID year. That was not the best and most beautiful season to wear that beautiful jersey. Now I will be able to enjoy it to the fullest.”