Bredewold saw Vos attack: "Demi wanted me to keep the pace high to keep her out of trouble"

The Dutch team, with Mischa Bredewold, Riejanne Markus and Pauliena Rooijakkers, put in a very strong performance at the Women's World Championship road race on Saturday, but in the end, this wasn't rewarded with a win. Bredewold reached the same conclusion in the mixed zone afterward but was also disappointed with the result.

The tea she had been handed after the race shook in her hands, showing just how absurdly cold the women were after their rain-soaked World Championship in Zürich. "It was cold, tough. At the beginning, it was okay, and everyone took off their rain jackets, but oh... That was a mistake. It was horrible. At one point, I couldn’t feel anything anymore," Bredewold said.

Dutch team had a signal planned: "But I didn’t know what was going on"

Several times, the 2023 European champion was dropped, but just as often, she managed to come back. "I got dropped in the last lap when everything fell apart. At that point, I thought I wouldn’t be able to come back, but then suddenly, we came back together," said Bredewold, who then began riding at the front. "We had agreed on a signal with the Dutch team, in case the situation wasn’t good, and they gave the signal when I was dropped, but I didn’t know what was going on."

"I had no idea what was going on, but then I came back. With that signal in mind, I started leading the pack, but after that descent, I heard that Riejanne Markus was up front," the Dutch rider explained. "That allowed me to relax a bit more, but then Marianne (Vos, ed.) attacked, and Demi wanted me to keep the pace high to keep her out of trouble."

This situation continued for a while. "You also don’t want the gap to grow to two minutes because then there’s nothing you can do anymore," Bredewold explained. "When we reached the feed zone, they called out that we shouldn’t ride at the front anymore, so we stopped. That was right before the start of the final lap. After that, I don’t really know what happened."

Despite the outcome, Bredewold has every reason to be proud of her performance on Saturday. "My goal was to ride a strong race. I was able to come back every time, but the result is disappointing. I’m happy for Lotte, and what she’s done is amazing, but I’m here for the Dutch team and not for SD Worx-Protime," she concluded.