“I just thought: to the finish, to the finish, to the finish…" - Marianne Vos refuses to admit defeat in dramatic finale to Amstel Gold Race Ladies

In thrilling fashion, Marianne Vos has continued her resurgence at the start of the 2024 season, taking the win at Amstel Gold Race Ladies ahead of the prematurely celebrating Lorena Wiebes.

For those watching it was thrilling entertainment, but what was going through the mind of the legendary Team Visma | Lease a Bike sprinter as she saw Wiebes sit up before the line with her arms aloft? “To be honest, I was just busy with my sprint,” she tells NOS in her post-race interview. “I just thought: to the finish, to the finish, to the finish… I saw that she started cheering, but it was not yet clear whether I would go over it. So I had to wait first.”

“I felt I had a little more speed, but I wasn't sure if it was enough. The fact that I am now winning here is very nice. But I also have mixed feelings here. Actually a triple feeling, with the accident on the road, the restart and of course I can also relate to Lorena," Vos continues, referring to a mid-race delay caused by an incident with a police car on the road ahead. "It also needs to sink in for a while. We are at the start with the idea of ​​racing at full speed. Then all kinds of things happen and then you stand here as the winner.”

After the incident with the police car, riders were parked at the side of the road for quite a while, resulting in a shortened edition of the race. “This gave us a short and intense race,” Vos reflects in conclusion. “We were immediately released from the restart. So 150 calm ladies suddenly became crazy bulls.”