"The level is just very high" - Marianne Vos struggling to find her place ahead of cyclocross World Championships

In 2021-2022 Marianne Vos raced only 10 crosses over the winter, fully World Cups, national and World Championships, and has conquered the rainbow stripes in Fayetteville. This winter however is proving to be the complete opposite as she struggles with the current level.

“One race goes better than the other. It varies in that respect. I've had a good training camp and I feel good conditionally, so I'm in good shape in that respect. I hope I can show that in the last races of the season," Vos said at the end of the national championships, where she finished in 10th place, 6:49 minutes down on Puck Pieterse.

Whilst last year - and on many previous ones - she proved a dominant figure in the few races she took part in, winning 6 out of 10 against the strongest competition, this year she would only raise her arms once, at the X2O Trofee Kortrijk almost two months ago. It's been a complicated season for the veteran who expresses concerns after the nationals.

“The level is just very high and if you are just one percent less yourself, then that makes a lot of difference," she says. "For whatever reason. Rhythm, shape or courses that suit you better or less… But that does not alter the fact that it is still very nice to do.”

Whilst she has had good form over the closing months of 2022, 2023 is proving a different beast as she failed to finish in the Top10 at the Zonhoven World Cup, followed by a disappointing performance in Zaltbommel. The World Championships lie three weeks away but Vos still has time to gather herself and look to revalidate her title against her compatriots such as Fem van Empel and Puck Pieterse.

“Next week there is the World Cup in Benidorm. That is my last race and then the preparation towards Hoogerheide starts. I am very curious. It's a track that we know, and for me a location that I have fond memories of, so I like to look forward to it," Vos concluded.