Ambitious Vos looks forward to road season after great cross campaign

The 136-kilometre hilly course features eight gravel sections that characterize the race, with a total of more than 31 gravel kilometres. The final takes Marianne and her teammates up the steep climb leading to Le Tolfe (1.1km, 18% max). Then the vicious climb of the Piazza del Campo in Siena awaits shortly before the finish.

โ€œIโ€™m really looking forward to getting back to road racing after months of mudโ€, Vos says with a smile. โ€œThe Strade is such a nice race to ride, followed by the spring classics Ghent-Wevelgem, Liege-Bastogne-Liege, Tour of Flanders and the Amstel. Subsequently, I intend to go on altitude training in preparation for the first edition of the Tour de France Femmes. I am looking forward to it and I hope we can win some stages. And I think itโ€™s good that we can go to grand tours like the Giro, the Vuelta and the Tour with Team Jumbo Vismaโ€™s two WorldTour teams.โ€

The young team had reinforcements across the board this year, including several young riders and 29-year-old Coryn Labecki. They should be able to compete with Vos for victory in the spring classics and tours.

โ€œCoryn and I have been competitors for a few yearsโ€, Vos continues. โ€œShe is a very complete rider who can be pushed forward in many races. Coryn can keep her cool for a long time and knows exactly when to strike. She is also direct in her communication which is an asset because you know what she expects. So I think we can support each other a lot and itโ€™s good for the team that it has several riders who are able to take the win.โ€

From the very beginning, Vos was part of Team Jumbo-Visma Women. โ€œIt was exciting for a while because I had to wait and see how it would go. Though I knew it wasnโ€™t a leap of faith, the team could emerge in an already very professional organisation with a lot of experience. We were immediately embraced and included in the larger structure. It felt like a warm welcome, mainly thanks to both the womenโ€™s and menโ€™s team management. There was immediately a great interaction with the other WorldTour team. All knowledge and information are shared, even from the speed skating team, making everyone stronger. I realise how nice it is to work in such a professional environment, an environment that radiates confidence and gives us peace of mind.โ€

That calmness resulted in outstanding results and fourteen victories during the teamโ€™s first season. โ€œLast seasonโ€™s best victory? Gent-Wevelgem! It was my first win for the team and I owed it to the team. My teammates put me in a perfect position, so I didnโ€™t have to put in too much effort before the sprint. Celebrating that victory together was such a beautiful moment… There have been great victories since, but this one is special because it was the first. We have had a few new riders join the team in the meantime, but the balance and team atmosphere are still good. We will give it our all for each other, which, as a team, allows you to get very far.โ€

The Strade Bianche Donne starts this Saturday at 9.10 in the morning.

Line up: Marianne Vos, Coryn Labecki, Linda Riedmann, Teuntje Beekhuis, Anouska Koster and Anna Henderson

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Mathew Mitchell
Mathew Mitchellhttp://procyclinguk.com
My name is Mathew Mitchell, 30-something from Staffordshire, UK. Over the last few years, I've got more and more into cycling, from the first innocent Sportive events to Audaxes, Go-Races, British Cycling racing, Time Trials and now Cyclocross.

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