02/01/2023

"This is what I love to do most, live this life" - Ellen van Dijk not considering retirement comparing to Annemiek van Vleuten

Ellen van Dijk is a veteran in the women's peloton however she is in the prime of her career. Having recently taken a second World title in Wollongong in the individual time-trial, she now eyes another successful season.

In an interview with In de Leiderstrui, van Dijk admitted she is still keen on winning Paris-Roubaix Femmes. "It is the most beautiful classic that I could still win, that's for sure. For me it is really number one and I just want to be very good again. Then we'll see if it yields anything, because you can't always control that yourself," she explained.

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"In principle, I train very hard all year round, so that I always have a high basic level. I also had quite a few problems with that, that I was good all year, but never really peaked," she continued. Despite claiming not to have peaked this year, wins at the World and National championships, alongside a few others throughout the year, made it a success for the Dutch rider.

In Wollongong she saved her season after not succeeding in the road races. "That will remain a bit, although we deliberately made very different choices for the World Championships in 2022. That worked very well, even though I found it very scary to sometimes skip a race."

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"I am still very happy with 2022 and I hope to be able to continue at that level. However, cycling is full of trial and error, so I know there can be a lot of disappointments again," van Dijk said. "If I only get that fantastic boost every now and then, it helps."

Reaching 36 years of age, she is asked about feelings of retirement as is compatriot Annemiek van Vleuten. "Of course she is five years older, but I am indeed already 35. When I thought about what I would like to do, I came up with cycling. This is what I love to do most, live this life. It was an easy decision to continue, especially with women's cycling on the rise. That's nice to be a part of," she responded.