Annemiek van Vleuten was all smiles as she said goodbye to the World Championships đź‘‹ One of the greats đź‘Ź #GlasgowScotland2023
It wasn't her victory lap, but rather the BBC that brought Van Vleuten to tears after her final World Championship
CyclingSunday, 13 August 2023 at 15:11
Annemiek van Vleuten has ridden her final road World Championships. The Dutch cyclist finished in eighth place on Sunday in Glasgow, after experiencing several instances of bad luck in the 154-kilometer-long race, which was eventually won by Lotte Kopecky. This led to both smiles and tears afterwards, as she realized that she would no longer be competing in orange.
Her finish in Glasgow was symbolic of her incredible career. There was no sign of self-pity or frustration, despite a puncture that took her out of a promising position in the last lap. "Accept, adapt and move on," she called it immediately after finishing, being praised by the Scottish crowd. After all the main press had interviewed her, she appeared before the Dutch press with equal strength and compassion.
"Story of my life," the powerful woman said with a big smile. "I'm now well-practiced at flipping a switch and just accepting when something happens that you can't do much about. In this case, it was a flat tire in the last round. Of course, you can get really grumpy about it, but I thought: all these people are cheering for me, so I made something like a victory lap. People realized it was my last World Championship, so that felt special to me."
"Things can never be normal, especially when I'm riding in orange. There's always something. I seem to attract those kinds of things, like a magnet," continued the Dutch cyclist who inspired so many people with her feats in the KNWU uniform over the past years. Tears didn't come during the race or her victory lap, but after the race, they did. "That was because of the BBC, who had beautiful words for me. That did make me shed a tear."
Van Vleuten can still laugh after flat tire: "Typical"
"Did I think it was tough race? I actually thought it beautiful," said the ever-positive Van Vleuten. "If it had been wet, I would not have been standing here happily. I had problems with my bike twice earlier in the race, so I was relieved that I was able to come back at all. If my race had ended there, I would have been disappointed. Now I was able to do everything for myself and the team, until that flat tire ruined it. That was typical of my career, but I'm glad that I could put all my energy into the race."
"If we could have still played the game with the two of us, it would have improved our chances. I even thought about winning because Kopecky would have had to react to both of us," said the woman who usually races for Movistar. "Beforehand, we already knew that she was the strongest and that we could beat her by exploiting our overall strength, but in the end, there was nothing to be done about it. She was really good."
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Latest Comments
- Van Aert is really handsome. He can influence me all day! Ditto for Philipsen. Why do you think many of us love cycling?: to see heroic attempts at climbing mountains at high altitudes or to watch speedsters sprint for the finish line or to watch a human being ride at break neck speed down a tricky descent? No, it's all about their lean physiques and muscular legs. (apologies for objectifying these dedicated and amazing athletes).BarwonHeadsUp25-10-2024
- It is unfortunate that the author can't feel the joy that Pogacar brings to the sport and his fans who are legion and I for one feel lucky to have watched such a memorable performance and historic season From the Strada until yesterday with multiple wins in stages in both tours and beyond dominance in the World's. He is proud to wear the Rainbow stripes, shows his leadership to protect his fellows and is as courteous and sportsman-like as the sport allows. He goes early to not have to respond to each attack as all the rest would make him do it. Any racer who could would do the same. Don't "grow tired" of greatness as it is always fleeting.ccrider13-10-2024
- What load of rubbish. Pog is likely a once in a generation cyclist, the like of which hasn't been seen since 'the Cannibal '. How many people were complaining that Merckx was making racing predictable? I remember this year's World RR as one of the most exciting I've watched. Mainly BECAUSE Pog was the favourite and launched what everyone thought (Pog included) was a suicidal attack with 80km to go. For the next 2 hours, I was on the edge of my seat thinking "this is too much, even for Pog". Maybe Zonnefeld prefers the snooze-fest that is a bunch sprint? Like most people I know, I can't watch two hours of the bunch riding very fast... I wait for the final 5km and watch just the sprint. In any event, most races are won from a sprint or lone break. What difference does it make who makes the lone break? Ultimately, the other contenders will have to figure out a way to beat Pog. Even if that means collaboration between teams. It's going to be an exciting few seasons, until the next Pog arrives on the scene. If this is boring, heaven knows what exciting looks like!Michael513-10-2024
- This is not a gravel race. UCI fail, from the surface they are on to team tactics. In what country was the first "gravel race" in what country is the most popular gravel race? Go with the race model that created the discipline.
Barnes127411-10-2024 - And don't forget he has now won 4 of the big 10 races (Grand tours, Monuments and WC/OG) in one year with a chance to make that 5. (5 has only been done once before)Joostmehrtens05-10-2024