Please note that this is an automated translation and it will not be perfect All articles have been written in English and if anything appears to not make sense They'll lean into the fun and hunt for stage victories incredibly long sprint held off the pack on stage 6 'Look forward to sharing my experience from the past with the next generation' says former Tour de France winner Annemiek van Vleuten a former Tour de France winner and multiple-time world champion announced that she will join Fenix-Deceuninck as a performance mentor in 2025.  Will be joining Fenix-Deceuninck as performance mentor Look forward to sharing my experience from the past with the next generation and helping them to become better athletes," Van Vleuten said in a post to her social media channels on Friday in their pursuits on the Women's WorldTour.  she said that while it is confirmed she will work closely with a select few riders "The idea is to work with three riders in concrete terms It is not yet known which three riders it will be I will join the team at the training camp in January and get to know everyone She will first do her 'cross season and we will leave her alone for a while I definitely see Puck as a potential Tour winner And I think she will have to do that by making choices in what she really wants to excel in the main thing is that the rider makes the choice himself and that it is also about having fun I have indeed started following Pauliena with a bit more interest Then you see someone who has started to discover herself as a classification rider We might be able to speed up her process a bit by thinking along with Pauliena And sometimes it's just about giving trust." Van Vleuten retired from professional racing at the end of 2023 following a successful 16 years that was highlighted by victories at the Tour de France Olympic Games and major events at the Spring Classics such as Tour of Flanders and Liège-Bastogne-Liège Van Vleuten said that team co-owner Philip Roodhooft reached out to her in the spring to gauge her interest in working with Fenix-Deceuninck "He said: 'we have the idea that we still need something to let the riders take the final step We think that you can contribute to that,'" Van Vleuten confirmed "That's a great opportunity for me to develop myself as a coach I knew I didn't want to be a team leader in the car because I think others are better at that tactically So this 'loose role' is very nice for me." Van Vleuten also said that she had discussed potential opportunities working in the professional peloton as a coach with her long-time trainer Louis Delahaije "I think that is perhaps the most interesting part And where I can contribute most to the development of the riders," she said Van Vleuten explained more about her decision to take on a new role with Fenix-Deceuninck on her website annemiekvanvleuten.nl She said that she was approached by multiple teams but that she chose Fenix-Deceuninck because they were "very pleasant and open" "I think it is important that women and men in the same team are offered the same facilities it quickly became clear to me that Philip Roodhooft really has a clear vision with this team Riders are recruited because they see talent in them and then plans are made to further develop this talent It is not a team of riders who are already winners when they join the team," she wrote "I was positively surprised by the well-organized structure and everything that has been arranged within this team I saw this team start as a team where some 'crossers rode a road program together but this team continued to develop where in my opinion the breakthrough really came in 2023 and we also started to take into account the plans that were made within Fenix-Deceuninck "I find it interesting to work with riders and think along with them about how they can improve themselves but also always have to keep the balance I like how this team thinks about 'performance' I have also experienced and seen how important it is to keep that balance but within that to look for things that could be better "What also attracted me is that it is also a great opportunity to develop myself within a cycling team I thought it was great that Philip presented it to me in this way: as a journey of discovery for both sides I think that neither of us has a clear idea of how and what I can add to this team as a 'performance mentor' but there is a clear desire from both sides to make a substantive contribution." Welcome @AvVleuten to @FenixDeceuninck as a performance mentor! 🤩 pic.twitter.com/yuSWHyi2IDDecember 20, 2024 Kirsten has a background in Kinesiology and Health Science She has been involved in cycling from the community and grassroots level to professional cycling's biggest races She began her sports journalism career with Cyclingnews as a North American Correspondent in 2006 Kirsten became Women's Editor – overseeing the content strategy race coverage and growth of women's professional cycling – before becoming Deputy Editor in 2023 It turns out Remco Evenepoel isn't the only former footballer to become world champion Date of Birth8/10/1982NationalityDutchBornVleuten NetherlandsNicknameVleutyHeight1.68mWeight59kgTurned pro2008Teamn/aBikeCanyon Aeroad CFRCareer wins104Stage race wins17CoachLouis DelahaijeTwitter@AvVleutenInstagram@annemiekvanvleutenFew riders can boast a palmarès as decorated as Annemiek van Vleuten’s The Dutchwoman was four-time world champion with titles split evenly between the road and time trial, and has won each of the major stage races in France but here are 21 things you probably didn't know about Van Vleuten.  literally means 'Annemiek from Vleuten'.  She began her sporting life as a footballer and played in midfield for local team SV Ratti until she was in her early twenties A cruciate ligament knee tear in 2005 put a halt to Van Vleuten's footballing career She took up cycling in her final year of university to keep fit after the injury and quickly realised she had a knack for it.  She studied animal sciences and holds a master's degree in epidemiology 5. Van Vleuten was known as a party animal at university. "I had parties until late at night," she told CyclingTips in 2020 "It was an utterly carefree time and is a memory I still cherish."  She entered the pro cycling ranks in 2008 at the age of 25 signing for Dutch team Vrienden van het Platteland Although Van Vleuten is most famous for her road results she has claimed titles in other disciplines winning the Dutch Marathon Mountain Bike Championships in 2017 She has also proven to be a strong track cyclist and took a silver medal in the individual pursuit at the 2017 World Track Championships The Dutchwoman finished a runner-up in the final to the USA's Chloé Dygert who set a then world record time of 3:20.060.  Van Vleuten suffered with reduced blood flow to her legs during the early years of her career She was diagnosed with having blocked iliac arteries and underwent three surgeries between 2009 and 2013.  11. At the World Championships in 2022, Van Vleuten fractured her elbow in a crash in the mixed relay team time trial. She went on to win the road race She won her first road world title in Harrogate 13. At the Rio Olympics in 2016, she was leading the road race solo when she crashed on a descent I was wrong," she told her soigneur immediately afterwards 15. In her free time, she plays the guitar, an activity she said is “like yoga, or mindfulness training”, in an interview with Cyclist She also enjoys playing the board game Settlers of Catan with her friends The Dutchwoman has also been learning Spanish 17. She holds the Strava QOM on the segment for the Planche des Belles Filles - the steep climb where she wrapped up the yellow jersey at the 2022 Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift 18. She rode the Tour of Flanders 16 times Her two victories in the Monument came a decade apart Van Vleuten holds the record for the oldest Monument winner with her 2022 victory in Liège-Bastogne-Liège 20. No rider has raced alongside the Dutchwoman as much as her compatriot Marianne Vos The duo spent six seasons together at Rabobank and have completed 244 race days in the same team.  Thank you for reading 20 articles this month* Join now for unlimited access Enjoy your first month for just £1 / $1 / €1 *Read 5 free articles per month without a subscription Try first month for just £1 / $1 / €1 offering race analysis and rider interviews Tom likes it most when the road goes uphill and actively seeks out double-figure gradients on his rides His best result is 28th in a hill-climb competition Please select what you would like included for printing: Copy the text below and then paste that into your favorite email application Add to Calendar Complete the form below to get directions for the A Celebration of Life for Andrew Peter Vleuten This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply Service map data © OpenStreetMap contributors Annemiek van Vleuten retired in 2023 One of the greatest female cyclists in history with two world road race titles and a long list of big wins has been named performance mentor at Fenix-Deceuninck The news comes alongside the announcement that Fenix Fenix-Deceuninck has also unveiled a partnership with ALE Cycling as their new clothing sponsor At a press event in Milan, the team announced the news “Fenix-Deceuninck is excited to welcome Annemiek van Vleuten as performance mentor Known for her unmatched mindset and professional approach the former world champion will guide riders to achieve their full potential,” a statement read “Her expertise and leadership will be pivotal in refining both individual and collective performances as Fenix-Deceuninck continues to compete at the highest level.” she would remain in the sport and help the next generation of riders I realized I wanted to help younger riders reach their full potential,” she said “When Philip Roodhooft approached me with the offer I was surprised but also immediately impressed by their professionalism and passion for cycling and now I’m looking forward to passing on that knowledge to the next generation.” Holy Puck Pieterse has some amazing skills van Vleuten will guide riders like Puck Pieterse breaking into the road scene with a stage win at the Tour de France Femmes as well as winning the XCO world championship Along with the two world road race titles (2019 and 2022) and four time trial world titles (2017 she also claimed Olympic gold in the time trial in 2021 and became the first cyclist–male or female–to win all three Grand Tours along with wins at the Tour of Flanders and Liège-Bastogne-Liège She also took the triple crown in 2022–winning the Tour Get the digital edition of Canadian Cycling Magazine Δdocument.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Trix van der Vleuten brings nearly two decades of experience at global companies to her role as Chief Marketing Officer at The Social Hub she heads up the Marketing and Performance team enhancing the structure and strategic thinking of The Social Hub’s commercial activities while prioritising social impact and industry leadership Trix spearheaded innovative programs and award-winning campaigns that reshaped brand perceptions and customer engagement at the likes of KFC Trix sits on the board of several organisations and is a frequent guest lecturer at leading international institutions She’s also a writer – her debut children’s book May for President was hailed as one of the best Dutch books of the year by Harper’s Bazaar the HeadFirst Group Prize - Best of Champions will take place The final lineup has now been confirmed and includes World Champion Henrik von Eckermann European silver medalist Philipp Weishaupt and Olympic bronze medalist Maikel van der Vleuten Philipp and Maikel will replace Olympic Champion Christian Kukuk and European Champion Steve Guerdat who are unable to participate due to unforeseen circumstances Steve Guerdat had to undergo emergency surgery for a hernia which will keep him out of competition for the time being He will be replaced by European silver medalist Philipp Weishaupt The 34-year-old German rider from Ludger Beerbaum's stable won a gold medal with the team at the Paris Olympics Christian Kukuk must remain on standby as he and his wife the distance is too great for Kukuk to travel He will be replaced by Maikel van der Vleuten who won his third individual Olympic bronze medal in Paris The silver medalist in Paris was Steve Guerdat the audience is guaranteed an evening full of horsemanship and thrilling sport The event will be hosted by Harrie Smolders and Jeroen Dubbeldam the initiator and sport director of The Dutch Masters This is an evening you don’t want to miss who missed out on gold in the road race after believing she had won takes top spot in the individual time trial Picture by 2021 Getty ImagesAnnemiek van Vleuten of the Netherlands has won the women's individual time trial in spectacular fashion a full 56.47 seconds ahead of Switzerland's Marlen Reusser who mistakenly believed she had triumphed in the women's road race last Sunday (25 July) before realising Austria's Anna Kiesenhofer had already passed the finish line can now enjoy the sweetest redemption - an Olympic gold medal Swiss rider Reusser took home an impressive silver medal in a time of 31:09.96 while the Netherlands' Anna van der Breggen joined her compatriot Van Vleuten on the podium after swiping bronze in 31:15.12 Van Vleuten's story is an impressive tale of bouncing back from challenging situations she crashed heavily when leading the women's road race When she also lost her chance of winning Sunday's equivalent the pressure that mounted on her had the potential to crush her confidence But the Dutch cyclist showed nerves of steel to carry on: "My story started in Rio but the story has not ended yet because I will not stop," she said after today's race before turning her attention to the gold medal that now belongs to her And the 38-year-old from Utrecht wasn't looking back at past failures when she pitted herself against the world's best in today's Olympic showpiece "If you know that you're really close to the gold sometimes you tend to think only about the mistakes you can make on this quite technical course about if it starts to rain or it's slippery or that you make a mistake," she explained "But I was in a good flow today and I was not thinking about mistakes The time she gained proved to be more than enough to secure her the victory - and with it the Olympic gold medal Olympic Membership - Free Live Stream Sports & Original Series - join now Recently retired two-time female road race world champion joins Belgian team as a performance mentor Annemiek van Vleuten has joined Belgian Women’s WorldTour team Fenix-Deceuninck as a performance mentor A press release from Fenix-Deceuninck said that Van Vleuten’s vast expertise will help “guide riders to achieve their full potential.” Van Vleuten said that she had been weighing up moving into coaching for the last few years of her career "When Philip Roodhooft approached me about joining Fenix-Deceuninck I was surprised but quickly impressed by the professionalism and their commitment to both performance and the human side of the sport," she said "I’m excited to contribute to the growth of this talented team I learned the value of reflection and improving through trial and error and I hope to help accelerate this process for the athletes here This new role is a fantastic challenge that perfectly aligns with my ambition to grow as a coach." During her lengthy 16-year career Van Vleuten won almost all of cycling’s major prizes. On top of winning the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift and two road world titles she also won the Giro Donne on four occasions and La Vuelta Femenina She also won two editions of the Tour of Flanders Strade Bianche and Liège–Bastogne–Liège "I quit at just the right time," Van Vleuten told Cycling Weekly I haven't regretted quitting even for a single day not even when I see such beautiful moments or people winning." She added: "Being on the other side feels really good." Fenix-Deceuninck also announced that Fenix would continue to back the team until at least 2027 and that they would be working with NXTG to bring more talent through their development system NXTG has been aligned with AG Insurance-Soudal's development squads rider interviews and features appear both online and in the magazine he has reported from some of professional cycling's biggest races and events including the Tour de France and the World Championships in Glasgow He has also covered major races elsewhere across the world Tom writes race reports from the men's and women's WorldTour and focuses on coverage of UK domestic cycling you will then be prompted to enter your display name "I barely even ride anymore—maybe once or twice a week and I'm fine with that," says the cycling legend thoroughly enjoying herself without a trace of regret or desire to be among them patiently waiting for the riders to return chatted amicably and gathered some intel for her appearance on Dutch TV later in the day Two years ago, it had been she who was wearing that yellow jersey. Now offering her valuable insights and expertise as a guest analyst on TV—a fitting role for a living legend.  When Van Vleuten hung up her racing wheels in 2023 she did so as one of the greatest riders women's cycling has ever seen and Spring Classics wins to her name.  While her contemporary and often rival Anna van der Breggen is planning her return to road racing after a short Van Vleuten doesn't see that for her future And the Colombian Transcordilleras gravel race she undertook in February was also just a one-time thing.  "Being on the other side feels really good," she said Van Vleuten attributes this sense of closure to knowing she extracted everything she could from her body After 16 years at the top level of cycling she left no stone unturned and no goals unfulfilled "I didn't think I could get anything more out of myself and that had always been my driving force," the 41-year-old said "I've never had a moment of regret because I've never had to think: if only I had done this or if only I had done that and  won the beautiful things I wanted to win." In addition to her prolific wins, Van Vleuten was known for her utter dedication, resilience, daring solos, and the incredible number of kilometres she spent in the saddle each year—"Married to the bike," as she put it she's enjoying the freedom that comes with retirement "I barely even ride anymore—maybe once or twice a week," she said It's hard to believe when she formerly clocked some 32,000 kilometres in a year, but she says she's let it go completely. Instead, she's staying healthy and balanced with some strength training and skiing.  While full-time TV work isn’t on the horizon She holds a degree in journalism and started out as a newspaper reporter — in print She can even be seen bringing a pen and notepad to the press conference she grew up a bike commuter and didn't find bike racing until her early twenties when living in Seattle Strengthened by the many miles spent darting around Seattle's hilly streets on a steel single speed Rook's progression in the sport was a quick one She's now been a journalist for two decades Devastating news for Dutch show jumping rider Maikel van der Vleuten After over a year revalidation she has been diagnosed with arthrosis "This is not the news we were hoping for," says van Der Vleuten Dana Blue underwent surgery last year after she and Van der Vleuten fell in the competition ring "It was a miscommunication leading to the accident Who's to blame is not important." continues Van der Vleuten "After a long resting period and her first steps into revalidation she is now diagnosed with arthrosis Following Dana will be able to enjoy an early retirement Last week owners and rider decided to no longer train the mare Probably she will however continue with a breeding career In Tuesday’s Olympic individual final in Versailles the Netherlands' Maikel van der Vleuten and Beauville Z (Bustique x Jumpy des Fontaines) repeated their bronze from Tokyo in 2021 – quite an achievement!  Van der Vleuten posted the second clear round in the final and went into a jump-off of three for the medals against Christian Kukuk and Checker as well as Steve Guerdat and Dynamix de Belheme van der Vleuten had no chance but to go for it, but a rail on the oxer at 10b hit the ground to leave him on four faults and a time of 39.12 seconds – and eventually an another Olympic bronze he has been extremely consistent,” van der Vleuten said of Beauville after the two had claimed their second individual Olympic bronze medal but at the same time he always fights for me We took a lot of time in the beginning when he was seven and eight to get the confidence in each other Then I was understanding my horse in and out Once I had the feeling the horse believed in me I think we grew into a great partnership and that brought us already to fantastic memories.” All photos © Jenny Abrahamsson for World of Showjumping. No reproduction of any of the content in this article will be accepted without a written permission all rights reserved © World of Showjumping.com © 2025 World of Showjumping - All rights reserved Powered by Artionet - Generated with IceCube2.Net Indurain (middle) on the final Tour de France podium in 1993 Tadej Pogačar has now officially joined the club becoming the eighth man to achieve one of professional cycling’s most sought after accolades Prior to Pogačar’s incredible result the feat had only been achieved seven times before by male riders. It had also not been done for 26 years in men's cycling with Marco Pantani being the last rider to do the double in 1998.  Pogačar now sits alongside the likes of Pantani Eddy Merckx and Bernard Hinault as a winner of both races in the same season.  Alberto Contador, Chris Froome and more have all tried, but have ultimately come up short where Pogačar flourished The key has always been to maintain winning form for a longer period of time than normal something that few have managed to sustain.  Pogačar has now made clear that he will target cycling's triple crown - the Giro all in the same season - a feat only achieved twice before.  we take a closer look at all seven male members of the exclusive Giro-Tour double winning club Fausto Coppi is one of the most iconic and legendary cyclists of all time and his name still carries a mythical status in the sport given his extensive list of achievements during his career Coppi was the first rider to ever win the Giro-Tour double and ended up winning both races in the same year on two different occasions.  The first occasion was in 1949 while riding for the Italian national team Coppi initially sustained a huge time deficit in the Tour after crashing heavily in the earlier stages but he would go on to claw the time back in the high mountains as the race progressed.  He went on to win the race’s penultimate day time trial in Nancy which ensured that he would triumph at the Tour and become the first rider to achieve the Giro-Tour double in the same season in the process a feat he would go on to match three years later.  Five Tour victories and two Giro triumphs make up just part of the great Jacques Anquetil’s list of achievements but 1964 was arguably the Normandy-born rider’s crowning moment of his career.  Anquetil had already won the Giro previously in 1960 but going into the Italian Grand Tour that year he was among a select group of foreign hopefuls for the maglia rosa who all had the potential to upset the home support looking to witness an Italian triumph in their own backyard.  Riding for the Saint-Raphaël team that eventually inspired the well known kit brand Rapha Anquetil took a stage win early on which saw him pull on pink before holding it all the way through to the finish.  Anquetil was very nearly denied his fifth Tour victory by Raymond Poulidor cutting Anquetil’s lead to almost nothing beating Poulidor in the race’s final time trial to ensure that he would win his fifth and final Tour de France by 55 seconds and achieve the double.  Eddy Merckx holds the record for the most Giro-Tour doubles achieved during his career an achievement truly befitting of a man nicknamed the Cannibal.  The Belgian great first pulled off the double in 1970 before going on to add a second and third in 1972 and 1974 His first Giro d’Italia was arguably unexpected after he had suffered with a knee injury for much of the race and illness beforehand.  Merckx then went on to win three more stages as his fitness developed during the race He then won a second successive Tour de France later that summer Merckx then held off several challenges in 1972 at the Tour from France’s Raymond Poulidor and Felice Gimondi of Italy in order to ensure that he landed yet another double Merckx’s eventual winning margin stood at more than ten minutes.  Merckx’s 1974 Giro win was a closely run affair The Belgian won the Corsa Rosa by just 12 seconds that year and was made to wait until stage 12 for his first victory of the race a 25 mile individual time trial on stage 12. He then won the Tour by 8:04 ahead of Poulidor.  'The Badger' is the next man to have completed the double on more than one occasion winning both the Giro and Tour in 1982 and 1985 the French legend won nearly all of the Grand Tours he ever participated in.  he competed in three editions of the Giro and two editions of the Vuelta a España Hinault also won on five out of eight appearances at the Tour de France making him part of a select club of riders to have won the Tour on five occasions.  The 1982 Tour saw Hinault take four stages on his way to victory in Paris Three of those were individual time trials one being the race’s prologue in Basel before he then went on to win the race’s final stage in Paris on the Champs-Élysées the Tour was a much more closely run affair Hinault only managed two stage wins - both coming in time trials once again before going on to win the race overall by 1:42 ahead of his La Vie Claire teammate Stephen Roche is one of only two former pro cyclists to achieve the unthinkable winning cycling’s triple crown - the Giro d’Italia Tour de France and road World Championships - all in the same season The Irishman only won the Tour on one occasion but coming in the middle of his triple crown Interestingly Roche has previously said that it was never the plan to win all three events in the same year everything just seemed to fall into place at the right time to enable him to do so.  Roche took the pink jersey during part b of the race’s first stage a short individual time trial from the Poggio near San Remo into the middle of the town The second part of the stage was a mere five kilometres in length but that didn’t prevent Roche from laying down the law and claiming pink Roche then won the final day longer time trial into Turin to wrap up the overall victory by more than three minutes.  Roche was pushed all the way to the penultimate day time trial by Pedro Delgado during the Tour Roche won an 87km time trial on stage ten before he then lost the yellow jersey with the end in sight The Irishman clawed back enough time during the penultimate stage to pull on yellow once more ahead of the race wrapping up in Paris.  Induráin is the only man to have ever completed the double in two consecutive seasons winning both the Tour and Giro in 1992 and 1993 The Spaniard also won the Tour five years in a row with his time trialling prowess setting him well on the way to victory in each.  it was two time trial wins that got him over the line including a 41 mile effort into Milan on the race’s final day.  Induráin then won all three of the Tour’s time trials later that year before eventually claiming yellow in Paris He then replicated that accomplishment the following year winning all four of the time trials on offer across both Grand Tours on his way to overall victory in each.  Induráin’s stage win total stood at 16 in both the Giro and Tour with most of those being on aero bars As well as his wins in both Italy and France his time trial mastery also saw him claim the world title in 1995 before going on to land an Olympic gold medal in the discipline a year later Marco Pantani is possibly one of the most written about cyclists of all time mainly due to his troubled private life which culminated in his tragic and untimely death in 2004 aged just 34.  Pantani was regarded as being one of the sport’s very best climbers with the sight of him dancing up the slopes of some of cycling’s most iconic peaks on his celeste blue Bianchi being a joy to behold He was also well known for his pirate bandana and earring which he sported throughout his career earning him the nickname 'Il Pirata'.  Pantani was the last man to complete the Giro-Tour double in 1998 the boy from Cesenatico got his Giro off to a slow start as he shipped time in the early stages Pantani put the hammer down and soon had his rivals begging for mercy Two mountain top stage wins at Piancavallo and Montecampione helped the Pirate eventually land the pink jersey in Milan.  Two months later the Tour began in Ireland with Chris Boardman winning the prologue and pulling on yellow Pantani had to wait until stage 11 to Plateau de Beille to make his mark The Italian obliterated his rivals to win the stage and set a record time for the ascent in the process He was made to wait before he could pull on the yellow jersey but victory on stage 15 at Les Deux Alpes was enough to grab the leader’s jersey and eventually win the Tour with the Festina team doping scandal threatening to discredit the entire race A handful of riders left the race early as a result but Pantani held on for the victory.  Van Vleuten has won the Giro Donne on four occasions but it was in 2022 that she won both the Giro and women’s Tour de France in the same year. She may not have won two three-week Grand Tours with just a month off in between but she beat some formidable opposition on the way to her two victories. It is as good as you can get in women's cycling she put the likes of Demi Vollering and Elisa Longo Borghini to the sword on the way to victory in the race’s inaugural edition a landmark achievement for women’s cycling.  It was on stage three of the Giro that the Dutchwoman took her the first step towards her third overall victory Van Vleuten won a hilly stage on a circuit around Cesena before going on to win in the mountains around Aldeno on stage seven which was enough to get the job done and secure the overall title.  During the Tour she had to leave it late to snatch the yellow jersey Marianne Vos held the overall lead going into the final two mountain stages but Van Vleuten wrestled it from her shoulders by taking wins at Le Markstein and Planche des Belles Filles.  Van Vleuten’s palmarès also matches any male rider on this list particularly due to her four world titles and Olympic gold medal She was simply a force to be reckoned with during her career and as a result she thoroughly deserves her place alongside Pogačar Merckx and company as a true winner of the Giro-Tour double AdvertisementHow was your experience today Maikel van der Vleuten was the big winner of the LGCT Grand Prix in Cannes yesterday he seemed to float through the course and took the win as the very last to start This victory puts the Netherlands in the lead in the overall standings with forty points "It's a fantastic feeling to be able to win here today The way Beauville NOP jumped was also just excellent I had made a plan together with my father before entering the jump-off To then also be able to execute that plan well is an indescribable feeling Beauville and I did really well today," beamed a very satisfied Maikel van der Vleuten "Beauville wanted to win just as hard as I did today My family was here but also his owner and her husband attended the competition The GCL audience always enjoys the sport and cheers on every rider Both to the audience and to my owners and supporters." but still we were left with thirteen riders I try not to worry about that and I'm not going to force Beauville because of that That's the most important thing for me."   so that the seven canter jumps that followed would just come normally tight turn to keep the forward pace in it more and it worked out Beauville also did an excellent job in the combination Then I wanted to pick up the pace a bit more I had already driven over a second and a half off the time Then it was a matter of keeping the focus and not doing anything stupid I didn't take all the risks to that last obstacle." the eight best results of each rider are added together The competitions in Stockholm and Paris are not on my schedule the next one where I will start is Monte Carlo Hopefully I have created some space to get back in a comfortable position I will do my best to win the general classification It's important to keep the horses healthy and happy is now getting a quiet week including walks It's always unique if you can share your profession with family Being on the top of your sport and sharing it with family It's the life of Dutch showjumper Eric van der Vleuten "It's a proof you can compete for years in our sport as long as you're able to be self-critical dedicated to the work and have a passion for horses."  Become a member and get unlimited access to all our articles Former World Champion starts eight-day Transcordilleras event this Sunday The sight of Annemiek van Vleuten has become a common sight on the roads of Colombia over each winter of the past three years She once used the high elevation of the paved roads for training to build into the early road season with her Movistar Team This year the Dutch rider will have an altogether different motivation as she works her way across the rugged terrain of the Andes for the eight days of Transcordilleras Ten Dam and Dekker return to compete in the non-stop self-supported stage race includes newcomers Russell Finsterwald who was second overall at the 2023 Belgian Waffle Ride Quadrupel Crown Returning to the field is Colombian mountain bike champion Marcelo Gutierrez.  so don’t look for her to sprint to any mountain summits or finish lines against the other retired road and mountain bike pros as it is the supported event she has opted for Since retiring last fall from a 16-year road career she says it’s time to instead enjoy new parts of Colombia off a road bike and with no thought of competition or maybe not,” she laughed as she told Cyclingnews about her time in Colombia this year but work commitments led Van Vleuten to invite a former teammate to join her on the eight-day Transcordilleras this Sunday with Altos She called it the ‘lazy version’ clean and repair bikes with provided mechanics and allow for a more relaxed expedition on the mixed terrain of rough gravel and washed-out dirt paths “I also want to participate here because people think for sure I will be competitive ‘Why are you not racing there?’ But that part I had the pressure to perform and I had to go for results I am not in the race and it feels really nice.” Her former Rabobank-Liv Cycling teammate Slappendel – who retired from road racing in 2016 and co-founded The Cyclists Alliance – accepted a late invitation to join the trip Van Vleuten on the Grail and Iris the 'more-relaxed style' Grizl “Iris Slappendel was keen for a gravel adventure and I think it’s more fun to do this nice adventure together So I see this as a way to see Colombia by bike,” Van Vleuten said “I’ll see many nice roads I have never seen before because I was only training on my road bike I had contact with Laurens [ten Dam] about the gear and the materials because I have no clue about gravel.” “Also I have a little bit of anxiety that it will be a minimum of six hours each day so it will not feel so much like a relaxed day It is part of the enjoyment to suffer a bit,” she said Part of the anxiety came from being off the bike for four weeks before travelling to South America She arrived at the end of January to participate in a six-day luxury tour around the Colombian Coffee region with Altos a third year for the excursion which she said she does "because I love this country" adding that she does not get paid to join the tours The pre-Transcordilleras tuneup provided climbing to the highest paved road of Colombia to Alto de Letras (4,000 metres) and accommodations near an active volcano It was on a road bike with a small group of riders on holiday and served to get her some much-needed hours in the saddle and adjustment to the elevation near the Andes “It’s time for new challenges and I will still enjoy the bike For the group that are doing the eight days with Altos I will also try to inspire them with a talk I prepared this winter for everyone that needs to deal with situations in life that are challenging. The title is: 'Accept something I had to do a lot in my career and for sure we need to do during the Transcordilleras."  a sports marketing and public relations agency which managed projects for Tour de Georgia a Georgia non-profit to promote safe cycling She is proud to have worked in professional baseball for six years - from selling advertising to pulling the tarp for several minor league teams She has climbed l'Alpe d'Huez three times (not fast) Her favorite road and gravel rides are around horse farms in north Georgia (USA) and around lavender fields in Provence (France) Be one of the first to try our new activity feed The decorated Dutchwoman is competing in the final race of her career at the Simac Ladies Tour At the end of this week, a new chapter in Annemiek van Vleuten’s life will begin The Dutchwoman will step off her bike as a professional cyclist for the last time Sunday as the Simac Ladies Tour comes to a close The six-day race is something of a parade lap for Van Vleuten who grew up near the route and trained on many of its roads Life as a professional cyclist can be monastic at times with nearly every day geared toward ensuring you’re as good as you can be on the bike Van Vleuten has applied that dedication better than most in the peloton and reaped the rewards for it but she’s looking forward to shifting the balance away from time spent on the bike “I will enjoy that I don’t have to go out training when it’s raining in the Netherlands and when it’s cold and shitty weather I have a bit more freedom,” Van Vleuten said in a video interview published by her Movistar team “I was married to the bike and now I have more freedom to go wherever I like and not having the anxiety about losing your form and your shape I can socialize a bit more without the bike “The good thing is that my life didn’t stop as a professional athlete I was still good at combining my social life with the bike It’s not all about the bike and you can combine it with other social activities.” By closing out her career at the Simac Ladies Tour — which used to be called the Holland Ladies Tour — Van Vleuten brings it almost full circle but it was one of the first major races she did after deciding to ride competitively only lasted a few kilometers but it gave her an early taste of what it was like to ride in a big bunch She’s had some better luck at the race since She’s currently sitting in 12th overall after two stages of this year’s race “I did the Holland Ladies Tour for the first time in 2007 It was only one day because I crashed out after one day “It’s good to end my career there and it’s so close to my home My feeling was that it had my name on it with the prologue near to my home and also the last stages are in my training area of Arnhem and also really close to where my mother still lives so it’s a nice way to say goodbye.” Since announcing last year that she intended to retire at the end of the 2023 season Van Vleuten has put forward a couple of ideas about what she might like to do in her next career — most of those ideas have revolved around helping to guide younger riders Van Vleuten hasn’t made any firm plans about post-retirement yet and after spending the best part of two decades dedicated to the bike she’s not keen on pinning herself down to one thing next year will be about figuring out what she wants to do and where her passions take her “I try not to sign a contract for 2024 and take it really as a sabbatical and take the year to do some shorter projects and orientate a bit to find a new project where I want to develop new qualities,” she said “I’ve signed up for a course with the Olympic Committee for athletes that stopped it’s a short course where they try to challenge you to think about what you learned in your career Van Vleuten’s career has weathered a lot of changes in women’s cycling and the sport is very different to the one she entered into in 2007 Her first major breakthrough came in 2011 when she won the Women’s World Cup but there was a lot more to come from her as she pushed her way through the ranks right to the top of the sport As she has developed physically as a rider her approach to her training and racing also changed I was training with a power meter in 2010 and 2011 don’t stress about your efforts and your power when you come back from a training ride,” Van Vleuten said “I realized that one of my strongest points is that I don’t get stuck in things I can’t control and I see that a lot of people do get stuck in that It’s way better to focus on the things that you can control and it makes you a happier person in general to accept that and move on.” After her final world championships appearance last month Van Vleuten put forward the idea of working with young riders on their mental strength Her comments came after Marlen Reusser pulled out of the TT a few days previously citing her mental health as the reason behind it Van Vleuten has endured her own mental ups and downs over her career but said that working with a mental coach has helped her She wants more riders to do that before they suffer a crisis “I started to work with a mental coach back in 2010 and my driving force was that I want to get the best out of myself so also on the mental part,” she said “I had to deal with a lot of negative thoughts I wasn’t a climber and when I saw that I climb was coming up I was thinking you have to have an issue before working with a mental coach and I hope we can change this in cycling and sport in general Mental coaching is such an important part of getting the best out of yourself as an athlete.” What’s it like to be an American cyclist living in France Watch to get professional road cyclist Joe Dombrowski’s view Swansong season in rainbow for unyielding Dutchwoman After her barnstorming solo raid in the Yorkshire Dales to claim her maiden World Championships victory in 2019 Annemiek van Vleuten had only 15 race days in the rainbow jersey But after the “best victory in my whole career” at the Wollongong Worlds the 39-year-old now has the perfect curtain call to her career racing her final season in the pro peloton clad in rainbows “That was also why I was so super disappointed after I broke my elbow I also knew the course and when they announced the course for next year I was already sneakily looking at it and how many altitude metres there will be So I had the feeling that this is my biggest chance “So now that I am here and World Champion next year Annemiek van Vleuten stuns the Worlds to snatch road race title with last-gasp attack Van Vleuten: I'm waiting for the moment someone tells me this is not true As an ephemeral rainbow emerged above the finish line in Wollongong following an afternoon of rain and sun showers an enduring rainbow jersey awaited Van Vleuten at the finish line “I think maybe this is my best victory in my whole career With the whole week that I have been through Yeah it is quite a story,” the Dutch rider said in the winner's press conference with long pauses punctuating her responses as she came to terms with her victory.  Van Vleuten’s first season in the rainbow jersey was cut short first by the pandemic and then by a crash at the Giro Rosa that ended with a broken wrist on the eve of her Worlds defence  A Worlds in which Anna van der Breggen won a year before retiring to ensure a final rainbow season A feat now emulated by compatriot Van Vleuten that every day you have the reminder that you are World Champion,” said Van Vleuten who turns forty in two weeks today “To take it this year is better than next year When I was World Champion and we had the Covid situation I could not race a lot of races in my World Championships jersey [But] I still trained a lot in my jersey.” “To race in the rainbow makes me really proud.” Van Vleuten was laying on the ground in shock her World Championships appeared over after a mechanical caused her to crash less than 20 pedal strokes into the Mixed Relay TTT but any chance of competitively racing Saturday’s road race looked to have sunk as quickly as Van Vleuten’s fall to the ground But if there is one rider you don’t write off On Thursday evening at the Dutch team hotel in Sydney Van Vleuten told Cyclingnews that things can change and there was no need to panic Her training ride earlier that day had been a success transferring from the rollers in the hotel to the Sydney streets The doctors had told her that she would do no further damage to her elbow Van Vleuten has experienced great setbacks in her career riding the highest of highs and lowest of lows The world’s number one rider in the women’s peloton has continued to set targets and achieve her goals despite these setbacks The secret to Van Vleuten’s success during these latter years of her career when she has won just about every possible race “I see a lot of people who get stuck in negativity about what happened,” Van Vleuten told Cyclingnews on Thursday “You need to give yourself time to be sad about what happened But you give yourself such a big present if you don’t get stuck in what happened and try to make the best out of the situation that is there It happened so let’s make the best out of this.” At the winner’s press-conference in Wollongong on Saturday evening Van Vleuten was asked -  how does she do it she expanded on how she has developed her mental fortitude through multiple setbacks “A skill I developed because of all those shitty moments Don’t be negative about what happened,” she said “A lot of people usually get stuck in what happened I think all the shitty moments in my career taught me that it’s way better to focus on what is still possible and not look behind I think that is a skill I developed quite well it was hard to think that it was still possible I was not thinking it at all and at least I was not negative with my teammates I tried to be positive and they didn’t see me crying I just wanted to be a good teammate.” a frozen Ellen Van Dijk was the last rider to leave The Time Trial World Champion from Wednesday paused to watch the broadcast of Van Vleuten singing along to the Dutch national anthem during the medal ceremony Before clipping in and wheeling away in search of warmth and celebration "She is a special human being who keeps surprising everybody Atmosphere and topsport delivered a nice 1.55m Grand Prix at Jumping Indoor Maastricht. After a Jump-Off with eleven it was Maikel van der Vleuten who secured a home win aboard Tal Milstein Stables' Luigi d'Eclipse Van der Vleuten and the 12-year-old son by Catoki were just about half a second faster as compatriot Willem Greve aboard his top horse thanks to Mathijs van Asten and Sirocco (Balou du Rouet) The Dutch pair was followed by Germany's Jana Wargers aboard Clash Royale (Clarimo) Together with Enda Carroll's 11-year-old gelding Belgium's Niels Bruynseels and Origi v Vosberg (Echo van 't Spieveld) to the fifth place results This is the bike Van Vleuten rode at the Individual Time Trial Her groupset looked unchanged for the Mixed Relay The crash wasn't caused by an exploding tyre Initial reports from commentary suggested an overlapped wheel was the cause but different camera angles confirmed otherwise.  Having watched the footage on repeat no fewer than 30 times, even we here at Cyclingnews were initially baffled as to the cause. Van Vleuten later suggested an exploded tubeless tyre was the cause but in all the footage we've been able to gather the tyre remains totally intact until the crash with the kerb.  So if it wasn't the tyre that caused the crash We've studied the footage frame by frame and we've found the answer.  Van Vleuten's chain dropped from the big ring to the little ring This happened as her left leg was at the top of its pedal stroke it was expecting high resistance from the big gear The fact that the chain dropped into the little ring (rather than dropping off the rings entirely) meant that she was able to continue pedalling but the change in resistance from the gear meant that Van Vleuten's left leg came down more quickly than expected throwing her weight forward and to the right.  She naturally compensated by steering left but she lost control of the bike - through no fault of her own a stretch of kerb no more than a few metres long protruded from beneath the barriers it hit this kerb before being thrown back into the road the front Zipp 454 NSW wheel is snapped clean through Naturally, this caused the tyre to shed from the rim, covering Van Vleuten and her Canyon Speedmax CFR time trial bike in sealant The rear derailleur was also snapped from the bike in the aftermath Van Vleuten's bike is fitted with a SRAM Red eTap AXS groupset who had earlier suffered problems with his own groupset.  Her rear derailleur shift buttons are fitted to the ends of her aero time trial extensions and there are separate shifters on the underside of each hand position on the base bar SRAM shifters can be configured in any number of ways so there's no knowing exactly how Van Vleuten's were configured.  Footage of the Dutch women on the start ramp shows Van Vleuten's chain clearly on the big chainring.  As she rolls down the start ramp and stamps on the pedals This is pedal stroke 18 (out of 22).  the chain is now in the little ring and her weight is thrown to the right That came as a result of a chain being dropped kit and the latest breaking tech stories from the pro peloton He has been with us since the summer of 2019 and throughout that time he's covered everything from buyer's guides and deals to the latest tech news and reviews.  Josh has been riding and racing for over 15 years He started out racing cross country in his teens back when 26-inch wheels and triple chainsets were still mainstream but he found favour in road racing in his early 20s racing at a local and national level for Somerset-based Team Tor 2000. These days he rides indoors for convenience and fitness the latter usually with his two dogs in tow I feel happy the organisation took it serious they made an effort to organize something good and representative they did a good job in having something for everyone in these eight days of racing to see that we start on the Champs-Élysées It’s a really nice connection with the men’s Tour de France I like that setup because sometimes people are sad that the Tour de France comes to an end – this time It’s nice that the two races are connected some others containing short hills – particularly one of them with a steep 1-kilometer hill near the end… This Tour de France needed to be a shorter version of the men’s Tour de France but I’m not sad about that because the two uphill finishes are really interesting for me What also makes me excited is that they also put effort to take us into famous climbs Planche des Belles Filles in this Tour de France it’s a really good move from the organisation La Planche is a finish which I really look forward to the only thing that I don’t like too much – in a stage race – is the gravel roads stage it doesn’t seem that necessary to put into a TDF route It really increases the importance of the ‘luck factor’ since you can lose the race because you can have a flat tire we will ‘survive’ and there’s no bad luck for anyone For sure it will be one of my biggest goals next year It will be a challenge if I want to combine the Giro Donne with the Tour de France but I still have to plan it with my coach and my team the TDFF is going to be one of my biggest objectives in 2022.” We are using cookies to give you the best experience on our website You can find out more about which cookies we are using or switch them off in settings This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful Strictly Necessary Cookie should be enabled at all times so that we can save your preferences for cookie settings we will not be able to save your preferences This means that every time you visit this website you will need to enable or disable cookies again This website uses Google Analytics to collect anonymous information such as the number of visitors to the site Keeping this cookie enabled helps us to improve our website Please enable Strictly Necessary Cookies first so that we can save your preferences A high-speed crash at the women's road race in Rio leaves Annamiek van Vleuten with a concussion and three spinal fractures RIO DE JANEIRO (AFP) – Annemiek van Vleuten suffered a concussion and three fractures to her spine in a high-speed crash as she was leading the women’s road race at the Rio Olympics on Sunday The 33-year-old Dutchwoman skidded on a sharp right-hand bend and flipped forward over her handlebars plunging head-first into the road and curb Initial TV images showed Van Vleuten motionless after the fall which came on the final descent of the 137-kilometer race But Dutch chef de mission Maurits Hendriks gave a positive update on her status not long after the conclusion of the race won by van Vleuten’s Dutch teammate Anna van der Breggen “She’s in the ambulance and fully conscious,” Hendriks said of van Vleuten The Royal Dutch Cycling Federation clarified van Vleuten’s situation via Twitter Sunday evening noting that she sustained a concussion and three small fractures in her lower back She will remain in intensive care for further examination for at least 24 hours but let’s take a closer look at what’s actually to blame WOLLONGONG, Australia (CT) – The week of the 2022 Road World Championships hasn’t gone to plan for Annemiek van Vleuten. The Olympic champion didn’t meet her expectations in Sunday’s individual time trial. And in today’s mixed team time trial relay, the Dutch star had only just set off down the start ramp when disaster struck What happened to cause Van Vleuten to hit the pavement so abruptly The local broadcast commentators were quick to say it was a collapsed wheel. Others saw the blown tubeless tyre and assumed that was the cause, something van Vleuten also first blamed via Twitter Some online commenters suggested Van Vleuten had pulled her foot from the pedal And then there was that torn rear derailleur which pointed to a drivetrain issue The CyclingTips team on the ground has been replaying the crash video enough times for it to overtake Baby Shark as the most watched YouTube video We’ve zoomed into photos to the point where the pixels became jigsaw puzzles we’re pointing the blame at an unexpected chain jam Photos show that Van Vleuten pushed off from the start ramp in the big chainring and a large cassette cog a millisecond before she was thrown sideways that chain was on its way to the small chainring causing Van Vleuten’s weight to unexpectedly be thrown off balance not unlike if she had suffered a broken chain with Van Vleuten’s weight thrown over the front of the bike The hard-to-handle time trial bike became uncontrollable That tyre only blew off the rim from the impact of the barrier a mess of latex sealant awaited to throw on-lookers off the scent of the actual cause of the crash As Van Vleuten sat on the ground in shock and pain showing a rear derailleur torn from the hanger; something that was the result of Ellen van Dijk riding straight over it It’s amazing Van Dijk managed to stay upright What remains unclear is what led to the chain jumping off the big ring of Van Vleuten’s SRAM Red AXS drivetrain That drivetrain features a rear derailleur equipped with a clutch for chain security no sprint load would cause the chain to jump from its rings One theory is that Van Vleuten may have had a slight pause in cadence at which point the chain at the bottom could droop enough to be kicked off the chainring that clutched derailleur would reduce this likelihood and so would the surely low-drag Zipp freehub the footage shows no sign of hesitation in her pedal stroke My original theory was that Van Vleuten’s hands accidentally pressed both buttons on the base bar to initiate a double shift when she sought to shift just a single sprocket but Van Vleuten is a seasoned pro on a time trial bike and her hands don’t appear to be on the buttons We know the bad luck was related to the chain jumping from the big chainring we’re sending healing vibes to Annemiek van Vleuten who suffered a fractured elbow from the crash Dutch veteran Annemiek van Vleuten won a third consecutive Vuelta a Espana on Sunday as compatriot Demi Vollering narrowly failed to retake the red jersey she lost the day before after a toilet break Van Vleuten led by 1min 11sec Sunday morning and did enough to retain her title by nine seconds with Italian Gaia Realini 11 seconds behind The 40-year-old van Vleuten nursed her overall lead on the 12-kilometer final climb and was third at 56 seconds but exhausted," said a delighted Van Vlueten who rides for the Movistar team and also holds the women's Giro and Tour de France titles after Vollering stopped for a toilet break and then got caught in a crosswind "If it hadn't been for that (the toilet break) I'd have won this Vuelta," said rising star Vollering who rides for SD Worx and secured all three major Ardennes classics this spring rounded out the podium after a seven-day race a step up from the previous five-stage format Vollering had taken the lead by winning Stage 5 and was winner of the 93-kilometer Stage 7 that ended Sunday in a 12-kilometer climb Get the most important Cycling stories delivered straight to your inbox Annemiek van Vleuten (Movistar) takes victory atop La Super Planche des Belles Filles in yellow now I am here in the yellow jersey' says Movistar rider after win on Planche des Belles Filles “In day two and three it was very hard and I can't believe now I am here in the yellow jersey,” Van Vleuten told reporters in the post stage media conference at some point you can start to eat and drink again I could feel in stage 5 and 6 that my legs still had muscle pain that I was recovered from being ill.” The crowning glory of the Tour de France Femmes - La Super Planche des Belles Filles Though it turns out she was not only recovered but also back to her normal formidable climbing form, breaking away early on stage 7 and taking yellow ahead of the final stage to the top of La Super Planche des Belles Filles She also took a dominant lead of 3:14 in the process which meant all she needed to do to take victory at the long-awaited return of the Tour de France Femmes was keep a couple of key rivals broadly in check as only Demi Vollering (SD Worx) and Kasia Niewiadoma (Canyon-SRAM) were within five minutes However, riding defensively doesn't come naturally to Van Vleuten who instead wanted to add to her overall triumph by delivering that goosebump moment of a yellow-clad stage victory on top of the final summit finish it was something I told my team that if it were possible I would like to go for the win with the victory in yellow on the Planche the best way to finish this off,” said Van Vleuten “It was special – all the spectators cheering my name.” Van Vleuten came over the line solo 30 seconds ahead of second-placed Vollering giving her plenty of time to savour the landmark moment of winning the first official women’s Tour de France in 33 years with a margin at the end of a clear-cut 3:48 There was no mistaking how much this victory meant with a wide grin comfortably overwhelming the grimace through the final painfully steep metres of the climb and tears of joy in the eyes after the line.  Victory at the return of a women's Tour de France was one for the history books and the crowd-lined race a pivotal moment in the development of women's cycling you can feel more possibilities are happening more commercial marketers are interested in us That is how you develop to the point where more and more women have a minimum salary to go full time more fights – not only Dutchies on the podium,” said Van Vleuten who welcomed the stage victory of Danish rider Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig (FDJ-SUEZ-Futuroscope) on stage 3 as a break to the Dutch domination of the top step at the race is expected to be her last Tour de France Femmes “I hope that maybe we will have Alpe d'Huez,” said Van Vleuten “In the history of the Tour de France Femmes there was also a big battle on Alpe d'Huez and it would be nice to have that back.” There is also something the 39-year-old would like to see left out.  “Take out the gravel because it's a lot of stress and bad luck for the GC contenders. I don't think that should be part of a stage race, to be decided by bad luck,” said Van Vleuten, who made it safely through the gravel of stage 4 but One notable absence from the Tour de France Femmes Not surprisingly that comes at the top of the list of desired additions to the race next year for the Olympic and two-time world champion in the discipline “A big Tour needs a time trial," said Van Vleuten It's an important discipline and I think it's important to have that as part of a Grand Tour like this "I hope we can build more and more every year She joined Cyclingnews as a Production Editor at the start of the 2021 season and has now moved into the role of Australia Editor Previously she worked as a freelance writer Australian Editor at Ella CyclingTips and as a correspondent for Reuters and Bloomberg Cycling was initially purely a leisure pursuit for Simone but in 2015 her career focus also shifted to the sport Van Vleuten had a metal plate inserted into her wrist during surgery and will ride with a special brace.  "My wrist feels quite good and I can’t complain because, for me, it’s a miracle how it feels," Van Vleuten told Cyclingnews in a phone interview on Thursday evening after travelling to Italy “I don’t have pain on the bike and I can grab my handlebars I don’t have any problems with bike handling and that is something that was important in my decision." There were concerns that a second crash could cause major complications to her wrist but Van Vleuten denied it could be a problem 'The doctors told me that if I crashed again and would not damage it more," she said on Thursday.  They didn't give me a complete anaesthetic and I was conscious through the procedure and it only took 30 minutes which is why it’s stronger than before My wrist doesn’t feel great when I wake up but I can’t complain because I’m not in too much pain and I can handle my bike 100 percent.” 37-year-old Van Vleuten won the world title in Yorkshire with a long solo attack and was leading the Giro Rosa when she crashed on September 17.  It is unclear if she can be competitive on the steep climbs of the Imola circuit when she will have to pull hard on the handlebars but she will now line-up on Saturday for the 143km road race sharing team leadership with Marianne Vos and Anna Van der Breggen Van Vleuten said she didn’t take additional days off the bike due to the crash with the exception of the one day for surgery She is feeling strong after competing at the Giro Rosa and believes that she can carry that strength into the World Championships.  She is confident that if she starts the race she has a shot at winning the world title again "My legs are still there and I have nothing to lose," Van Vleuten said.  "I feel confident and at least I’m happy because I felt like my season was over but it isn’t over." Van Vleuten has ridden for Mitchelton-Scott for the last five seasons but will move to Movistar in 2021 Stephen FarrandSocial Links NavigationHead of NewsStephen is one of the most experienced member of the Cyclingnews team having reported on professional cycling since 1994 He has been Head of News at Cyclingnews since 2022 before which he held the position of European editor since 2012 and previously worked for Reuters 1 to bid farewell to professional cycling with Telefónica-backed squad; aiming at biggest success with Blues over next year and a half after brilliant 18 months together The Movistar Team is thrilled to announce Wednesday that Annemiek van Vleuten (Wageningen the great leader of its women’s squad since the start of the 2021 season has re-signed with the Telefónica-backed project managed by Sebastián Unzué for an additional year after which she will put an end to 16 years in the pro peloton Van Vleuten’s extraordinary career -almost 90 pro wins- has gone through some of its biggest highlights while racing for the Movistar Team with 12 victories that include her gold medal in the Tokyo Olympics’ time trial her second Ronde van Vlaanderen and the national tours of Spain and Norway a palmarès she’s further increased in 2022 with a new Monument classic as well as wins in the Omloop Het Nieuwsblad or the Setmana Valenciana above those results and the big ambitions Van Vleuten holds for the next year and a half with the Abarca Sports organisation remains the huge step forward her arrival meant for the whole group commitment and work ethic Van Vleuten has instilled in everyone part of the Blue outfit is a mark we’ll carry well after her retirement – one that we’ll proudly enjoy with her next season my driving force as a professional athlete Refining every physical ability or mental aspect on the bike both as an individual and together with the team I’m part of “I’d like to contribute a bit more to the team’s improvement just like I’ve done with the Movistar Team for the past two years To be part of it is why I wanted to re-sign for another season and it’d be sad to stop halfway through that development process I’m fully confident the organisation will continue to improve in 2024 and the years after that I didn’t feel like stopping right now – I’m still super motivated while also aware that there will be a moment when I’ll have to stop And it suits me better to stop when I’m still at my highest level playing the game at the front in the biggest events and doing it with this wonderful group of people feels like the right thing to do “Some people will surely wonder why I’m retiring before the Paris Olympics like the Movistar Team and every organisation I’ve been part of It’s not strictly about specific goals or races It doesn’t look like the Alpe d’Huez is going to feature on the 2024 course to retire in 2023 is to do so while on top of my game to round out that improvement process we and the team took up in 2021 I’m sure I’ll stop with a little tear in my eye “As a rider – and especially a young one – it is important to be critical of yourself,” Eric van der Vleuten tells World of Showjumping you see a vet being called to check on a horse that did not jump well when actually it can be yourself who just rode badly I don’t like it when people find excuses; if the horse does not feel well you should not have jumped in the first place.” it is very important to look at yourself first and that is also what you see the top riders do,” Eric continues he is sick of himself and says he has to do better It is easy to say your horse was this or that when in fact you only need to think about your own riding – and do better If my son Maikel comes out of the ring with a mistake I think that is very important for everyone to understand; the very first thing is to ride well.” Eric himself inherited his love for horses from his father Leo but always kept a few horses and he brought me to the riding school that the Heijligers-family has in Asten I was really interested in riding and horses but my father died when I was very young – I was thirteen at the time Piet Raijmakers went to the same riding school as I did they gave me horses to ride – and I loved it who is seven years older than me – it was him who carried me through that time We always went together; I grew up with Piet and the Heijligers-family and I learned a lot from them.”  The feeling of Maikel winning a medal is even better than if I would have won it myself I went riding for Mr. Beekmans in Eindhoven and I stayed there until I was 23 I had good years there; I won the European Championship for young riders in 1982 and I was Dutch junior champion twice I started working for Henk Nooren – who stopped riding at the time – and stayed for over two years I must say I always had good people around me and we used to do the whole tour around from Oslo to Helsinki and Aarhus I had a couple of nice wins in Oslo and Helsinki and was second in Gothenburg when Jan Tops won there even though I did not win many championships; luckily The feeling of Maikel winning a medal is even better than if I would have won it myself.” it feels as if I would have won myself – for us it is the same,” Eric says also because I am busy with managing the whole yard we have at home and helping my sons.”   We are very thankful and lucky to have Marta behind us After the European Championships in Madrid in 2011 I gave him the priority on our horses,” he explains “When Verdi (Quidam de Revel x Landgraf I) was young I gave him back to Maikel because I felt he needed a horse for the higher level – and I think that was a good decision I had Utascha (Lux x C-Indoctro) from the SFN Both me and Maikel had been on the Dutch team in Madrid – it was the first year Verdi did a championship he was nine back then – and it felt like the right call to step down and then in 2013 I started working with Sergio Alvarez Moya and Marta Ortega When Marta got too busy with her family business she asked if I would continue with her horses she had Verdi III (Hors la Loi II x Cantus) and Zigali PS (Kigali x Palfrenier) and that is when I started competing again The sport had changed a lot in those years – you cannot compare the sport today to what it was when I first started I felt that I still could do the classes well but I felt less competitive than in my younger years when I was a fast rider and could win I can still jump the big classes – if I have a horse that can do it.”  “It would not be possible for us to do the sport at the highest level without the support from someone like Marta and we have built a very nice relationship with her and her family,” Eric says “I think a good relationship like this has a lot to do with respect I rode for both Audi (Eric Berkhof) and VDL (Wim van de Leegte) for nearly ten years This is very important; respect the people who make this all possible for you and that is something I want to teach my kids The same goes for the people who are working with you they are important; they travel the world with our horses and you have to have respect for those who make it all possible Eric has Dreamland (Sunday de Riverland x For Pleasure) for the bigger classes and Iccarone (Carrera x Lord Z) that jumps up to 1.50m classes “And then I ride a few young horses at home as well,” he tells so I won’t jump big classes for that much longer Producing good young horses and then giving them on to the boys when they feel ready is something I really like I like to jump the younger horses at local shows give them mileage so that they are ready when they are at the right age because it is nearly impossible to buy them ready when they are older I think the only way to keep going is to make sure you have young horses coming up behind your top ones.” “That is my job too; trying to find good young horses and still there are only a few that really break through,” Eric continues is to be selective and only work with quality I want to see it as an interesting prospect something I think can be good for the future most horses we had on the top level were produced by ourselves from they were young horses – starting from 1.10m bringing them all the way up it is not easy: If you watch a 1.45m class on a two-star show you see hundreds of horses jumping like nothing but then the last step to the very top is difficult – there are only a handful that can do it.”  “I find the mentality of a horse essential,” Eric continues “And if you are looking for a horse for the very top and the right mentality… I often look for younger horses and these days it is so important that the horses are rideable Many horses might be so special that only a few riders can sit on them and if you have a young horse like that it is not a problem if they end up with a top rider if your horse does not end up on the very top rideability is something I look for in young horses heavier horses you don’t see so much on the higher level anymore; horses have to be quick to be competitive these days if you had a horse that could jump a double clear in a Grand Prix whereas now – except in very few cases – it does not happen so often Even with the biggest tracks there are easily ten clears so you need a quicker horse to be competitive.” It is important that the right horse comes to the right person you have to try finding horses that fit you as a rider,” Eric points out “Not every horse is a horse for the same rider; some like a bit more blood and it is very important that you have the right horse with the right rider we had Brooklyn Heights – who Denis Lynch rides now – in our stable and I told Denis that it is a horse he should buy because I thought they would fit well together he came to try and earlier this year they were the only double clear on the last day of the World Cup Finals – it is important that the right horse comes to the right person and you never should; you should look at your horses,” Eric tells about his approach to competing you will have better results; if you have two to three top horses and you put them in to the right classes at the right venues at the right time.” and you never should; you should look at your horses “I prefer to leave a show out instead of going in with a bad feeling,” he continues maybe at times they are a little lower on the ranking but they will always come back – because they are top riders I believe the real horse people will always come back When you have a good group of horses that is jumping well and that is how it is with horses; they are not machines "When you have periods where it is not working have a bit of bad luck – and everyone will go through a phase like this – it is important to stay quiet," Eric points out try more – you can have one down in the Grand Prix but it doesn’t automatically mean you’re doing the wrong thing If you start changing things when you have bad luck I believe it is important to stay quiet and move on.”  The fact that riders could show every weekend does not mean that they should “I always tell Maikel that he has to make his show plan for the horses he has riders would like to go to all the shows possible but you have to be realistic with the horses you have and make a good plan for them." You have to be realistic with the horses you have and make a good plan for them you have to choose," Eric says. "It is easy to burn a horse in a year or two but I like to work long-term with my horses Verdi did the top sport for ten years and that is what I like I prefer to do a few shows less every year but you have to think about your management so that you can have longevity with your horses but I think good horsemanship is about making a good plan and managing your horses well; I don’t like to over-jump them If you go in a Grand Prix and get into the jump-off you have to try to get the most out of the class but the least out of your horse It is easy to go crazy and go over the line but I prefer to get a lower placing and maybe miss out on a win if that is better for the horse at that point You should never go over the level that is possible for your horse.”  You have to try to get the most out of the class but the least out of your horse “You have to feel your horses and know what you can do with them and what not,” Eric continues It is not that I have to tell him what to do but sometimes you can see things that he might not feel and I think this works really well for us.” I don’t like to push the horses into anything; it has to go naturally I try to keep the training easy and simple – I think many people make it too complicated,” Eric points out “You have to make the work as easy as possible for the horse in a relaxed manner – I always work out of a relaxed mode It does not mean that you have to be in the indoor every day but you cannot work really hard for two days and then do nothing for the rest of the week We do a lot of changes in their program so that it is also mentally interesting for them; we go to the woods jump gymnastics and they also go a lot in the field.” “Many people seem to focus on things that have nothing to do with the sport; shiny boots and nice clothes a big truck – I don’t care about those luxuries I want to have a good truck for the horses a safe truck where the groom also has a good space to stay but I don’t need any luxury – I don’t care about that I prefer to have a good horse on a normal truck than the other way around the horse comes first and the rest around it is what it is.” the horse comes first and the rest around it is what it is “People need to be aware that they have to work with their horses themselves; they have to know their horses inside-out – this is what I learned years ago,” Eric says “George Morris used to say that your horse has to be your best friend – and I think that is absolutely true Younger people don’t grow up like this anymore has their own way of riding and their own style you will find him grazing his horses on his own That is something I often miss with the younger generation; that they would take their horses out and spend time with them get a closer connection with their horses and learn to know them I still believe that the closer you are to your horse that is the most important thing there is.”  “I enjoy everything there is in working with horses; from the top sport to being at home – I am a horseman who enjoys everything with horses,” Eric concludes “I can enjoy just seeing a group of young horses free jump seeing the natural qualities of the horses but I don’t have the feeling that I am going to go to another Olympics myself I like if the boys are doing well and enjoy what they are doing Seeing them work in a good way with their horses We have had some nice results at championships and if we can continue like this 7.6.2023 No reproduction of any of the content in this article will be accepted without a written permission