Shirin van Anrooij completes successful season with world title at Hoogerheide: "Everything went perfectly and I'm super happy"

Shirin van Anrooij has thrived over this year at Elite level in cyclocross, however due to her young age she opted to ride the under-23 category. It was a move that saw her with extra pressure as she was the woman to beat in Hoogerheide, but she thrived under pressure.

“I felt so much pressure, also from myself, to win here. It felt like I could only lose, but everything went perfectly and I'm super happy," van Anrooij said in a post-race interview. "Certainly, yesterday I saw that Fem was really super strong. But I felt really good today. Once I had chosen the reserves, I knew I had to win. That gave a lot of extra pressure, but I'm glad I handled it well."

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The Dutch rider let the race settle in the opening lap, but as soon she put in a dig on lap 2 there was no match in the group to her attack. Zoe Bäckstedt was the only rider capable of keeping the gap within possible reach, however with no meaningful mistakes van Anrooij soared to the win, with a gap of over 30 seconds to the Briton.

"We're going out for dinner tonight and then have a party in Antwerp," van Anrooij concluded. Certainly her season in the dirt has not ended yet, however van Anrooij has already achieved the success she wanted out of this season.

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Women Under 23 Podium 🏆 🥇 Shirin Van Anrooij (NED) 🥈 Zoe Backstedt (GBR) 🥉 Kristyna Zemanová (CZE) #Hoogerheide2023

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