Marianne Vos delighted at opportunity to race Milano-Sanremo Women: “I joined just a year too late to catch the 2005 one”
Cycling
Marianne Vos is back, and so is Milano-Sanremo Women. This weekend marks the long-awaited return of the Italian Monument to the women’s calendar, and the Dutch great is more than ready to be part of it.
Speaking to In de Leiderstrui, the 37-year-old reflected on her first race of the season, her recovery from injury, and the excitement surrounding a race that has been missing from the calendar since 2005, a year before she turned professional.
Vos made her 2025 debut at the Trofeo Alfredo Binda after missing the early season due to a calf issue picked up during cyclocross. Thankfully, that setback is now behind her.
“I didn't have a calf in the back of my mind, it's somewhere in my lower leg,” she joked. “But no, that injury is over, I had a good preparation. I suffered, it was a great final and there were a lot of attacks.”
She’s not concerned about a lack of race days either, despite Binda being her only start before Milano-Sanremo, “I am happy that I have a race in my legs. But I don't think the race days will make the difference in the race.”
Although she just missed the last women’s edition of Milano-Sanremo two decades ago (which was held back in 2005) Vos is thrilled to see the race return.
“I joined just a year too late to catch the 2005 one. But if you keep going long enough, it will come back by itself,” she laughed.
And now that it's back, the buzz is unmistakable.
“I'm glad he's here now. More and more races have been added in recent years, and it's logical that they don't all happen at the same time. It's nice that there's a newcomer, so you can look forward to something new. It's fantastic that he's here. You can feel that too. You notice that it's alive, that extra reconnaissance is being done and that photos are being taken of the signs with Sanremo on them. Every team and rider here gets an extra incentive because he's now on the calendar.”
Vos relishes the unpredictability of Milano-Sanremo and believes it’s this variety that makes the race so unique, even if the parcours itself doesn’t appear too daunting on paper. Maybe this is something she hopes to change in future editions of the race.
“It's what makes it so special that it has such a long lead-up, and then it explodes in such a short time span, and that so much can happen; that it can go in so many directions. That's what makes it such an interesting race. It's not an impressive race in terms of profile and elevation, but precisely because there are so many possible scenarios, that makes it very beautiful.”
Although the route matches the men's in the final kilometres, Vos wouldn’t have been surprised had the race been even longer.
“The final is the same (as for the men), and I think that in the end it will not change the race that much. But I think that we would not have been shocked if it had been a bit longer.”
For the first time in her career, Vos got to recon the Cipressa and Poggio herself, and she’s expecting fireworks.
“I only knew them from TV, and these days I cycled them for the first time. In terms of climbing, it is not super difficult, but it is just natural how they are going to ride against it. You know that the peloton will be going crazy, and that several riders may want to storm the climbs early, or else late. Then you know that it is going to be tough.”
As ever, her team has a clear plan, but Vos knows that anything can happen once the race ignites.
“The plan is not to sit back and relax, certainly not. It will explode somewhere, and then you try to get over it as best you can. As a team, we certainly have a plan, what we are going to do and when we will use our strength.”
That said, she’s not feeling any added pressure to win the race simply because it’s returning after so many years.
“Of course, as a team, we are going to try to pull the win towards us, but it is not like I think: that first Milan-Sanremo, you have to win that.”
The open nature of the route means the race could fall to any number of riders, from sprinters to climbers to puncheurs. In recent years, the men’s edition has been won by sprinters and climbers alike, and there’s every chance the same unpredictability could be seen in the women’s race.
“I think there are many contenders. Of course we have already seen some names in very good form in Strade, in Binda and the UAE Tour. You can actually write them down again. But it could be a climber, it could be a puncher, it could be a sprinter: that gives it very interesting possibilities for the final.”
And as for her own chances? “Maybe not among the absolute top favourites, but I hope to be involved.”
Vos also shared her thoughts on two riders not on the Milano-Sanremo start list: the returning Anna van der Breggen and Fem van Empel.
“She started very well. Impressive, but not very surprising. It's great that she's showing it straight away. But when she announced her return, I thought she would do well straight away. When she said goodbye, she was really among the best, especially uphill. When she really feels like it, and knows what it takes, I assumed she would really be there again.”
And on van Empel’s decision to step back temporarily, Vos was fully supportive.
“Fem needs to take time for herself. It's great that she's taking the space to do so, and that she's given the space by the team. Fem is going to have to sort this out for herself. Fortunately, she's very young and has a lot of things thrown at her. She's just going to take the time to do so.”
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