06/03/2023

World Championships likely final race as a pro for Annemiek van Vleuten - "I would be very proud to do it there being part of the Dutch team"

Annemiek van Vleuten has spoken with RTVE colleagues in a personal interview in which she has reviewed her career, her goals this season and her legacy. The Dutch cyclist, champion of the Giro, the Tour, the Vuelta and the World Cup in 2022, faces her last season as a professional cyclist at the age of 40.

"Our goal is easy, to be honest, because we're staying together for one more year. The plan is to get to last year's level to improve myself. In cycling it's not so easy to control what to win, especially in the classics which are usually my big challenges because the climbs are shorter and it's harder for me to win," she said. "But there I have the support of my Movistar teammates, we are very motivated for the classics. After seeing what happened last year at the Tour de France, how big it was, all the crowd there, maybe that's what I'm most excited about, to race there again."

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After a great career on the road, 2022 was the cherry on top of the cake with victories at all three Grand Tours, the World title and Liège-Bastogne-Liège among other triumphs. She has then announced 2023 would be her final year as a pro rider as she carried the rainbow stripes with Movistar Team.

"I haven't decided exactly where my last race will be, but it will probably be in Glasgow (World Championships, ed.), it's the number 1 candidate. I wouldn't dare say which is the best place, but I would be very proud to do it there being part of the Dutch team. I will make the decision on how to finish my last year but there is a long way to go before the World Championships in August, there are many other races before that. I won't ride the Paris [Olympic] Games because it's too flat and the Olympic year wasn't the one I had the best time," he mentioned.

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Still without a win in 2023, van Vleuten just came off a fifth place at Strade Bianche. "I'm still racing because my motivation is not to win races. My motivation is actually to always improve and I feel that I have exhausted the details to improve. I made the decision with my head and not because my body told me to stop. It's time to stop because at some point my performance is going to drop and I think it's nice to make this decision for myself. I am sure that many other things will come, there is much more to life than professional cycling. I'm ready."

"For sure I will continue in the sport, I love the sport very much, in a different role I hope to find a place, maybe new challenges, maybe, not in cycling but... yes, a different role, I don't know exactly how, or what but, for sure I will start in cycling. Something I really like is to help my teammates to teach them my experience, especially the younger ones and tell them not to make the same mistakes I made. I learned from them and that's something I hope to do," she concluded.