On Sunday, we said #GraciasMiek to a wonderful person and a legendary athlete. Our world is a bit emptier without you from today onwards. Enjoy what's to come, champ. Dankjewel. 🥹🤗🩵
Annemiek van Vleuten talks about her retirement: "Preparing for the big goals is what I will miss the most"
CyclingWednesday, 13 September 2023 at 15:00
Annemiek van Vleuten sat at Humberto's table on Monday to look back on her career. Her world title in Wollongong was taken as a characteristic event for her cycling career.
During the World Championships she won in Australia, Van Vleuten rode around with a broken elbow. Three days before the road race, the Dutch cyclist had crashed during the Mixed Relay. "How did I deal with that? Well, you go to the hospital, where you are told that you don't need surgery. Then you think: well, maybe it will work out. You should not focus on what has happened, always look at what is possible."
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"The national coach was helpful. She has often seen with me what is possible. I decided not to sip, even though my dream was shattered. This was my last chance at the world title. I thought: maybe I can still help Marianne, then I will come home from the plane with a better feeling."
Ultimately, Van Vleuten would win the road stage after a late attack. And her dream still came true. "That title is somewhat characteristic of my career. I have often had setbacks that I had to overcome, often in orange. Here it all came together in three days."
Van Vleuten does not yet know what she will do in the near future. What she will miss and already misses is getting the most out of yourself. "I announced my retirement when I no longer saw any areas for improvement. My lists kept getting smaller. Preparing for the big goals is what I will miss the most. When I said goodbye, it already hurt a little," she ends.
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- Here he is again, giving real answers! Love it. As a fan, I had not really paid attention but agree with what he says. Between Pogacar and van der Poel, with their attacks from 50k and more, the racing is simply different. At the grand tours, it's that kind of attacking every day, as well (e.g., even when he didn't want to, other teams goaded Pogacar into racing for the win at the Tour). I can imagine how hard that is for a rider, but for me as a fan it's certainly a lot of fun to watch.RidesHills25-11-2024
- Wrong, CrashJames. Frankie a ringleader of the Motorola doping scheme along with Armstrong. Armstrong made his career. And Lemond--you are still clinging to his miracle of "iron injections"? Bless your heart.
MarkFour25-11-2024 - Wrong. Bassons himself said that leaving pro cycling was the best thing that ever happened to him. You don't belong in these comments, or anywhere near a bike.MarkFour25-11-2024
- Agree, it is incomplete to omit the doped peloton. Lance was just better at it, a bigger liar, and vindictively went after people to protect the secret. Look how many results had to be restated, where other riders were also stripped of their results, and the problems ex us postal riders faced because their doping programs were not as good as postal. Why we continue to spend any time on this a$$h0le is beyond me.Crashjames25-11-2024
- Frankie Andrew, Greg lemond,Crashjames25-11-2024
- Christophe Bassons is one of many names. If you don’t that story, you don’t belong in these comments.PhilRidesBikes25-11-2024
- Not all riders in the peloton were using drugs, or using them to the same degree. Plenty of books published from cyclists saying they didn’t all get access to the same stuff whether they wanted it or not. Christophe Basons is just one of many who were outcast for not joining the program. Many new young riders were sent home if they didn’t abide by Lances rules. Andy Hampsten is another clean rider who refused to dope.PhilRidesBikes25-11-2024
- Lance lied, cheated, & destroyed lives during his entire cycling career. He claimed to enter the sport as a clean athlete, but there is evidence was already well into using banned substances as a triathlete. Lance is still lying about his use of banned substances & blood transfusions during his return to competition with Astana team.PhilRidesBikes25-11-2024
- I still can't believe how her teammates treated her that day. Her teammate literally sideswiped her and took her out and then after the race, the teammate claimed that she saw something yellow fall but she kept riding because she was going for the stage win (but finished 8th in the sprint). What the actual heck...Pogboom25-11-2024
- Many other drugs cheats also had no empathy.awp25-11-2024