Van Vleuten, world champion in one year for eternity

I sought the impossible. made. Annemiek van Vleuten was proclaimed this Saturday world champion in the online test after arriving in Wollongong (Australia) to recover from a difficult week. After breaking his elbow in the mixed relay time trial, the Dutchman made it clear that he will do anything for the chance to close out his amazing year in a big way. Said and done.

Van Vleuten (4:24:25) gave the Netherlands gold on Saturday in the women’s road race after winning the reduced sprint against the Belgian Lotte Kopecky and the Italian Silvia Persico. So, you got yours fourth universal gold after the time trial achievements in 2017 and in 2018 and the online trial achievement in 2019.

At 39 years old, despite the injury and disappointment he faced in the previous World Cup program, Van Vleuten paraded his human version to achieve another feat. The Dutchwoman achieved almost everything a cyclist dreams of in one year: her third Giro d’Italia, her first Tour de France in the debut year of his career and his first Tour of Spain. Also, that fourth rainbow jersey and a Liège-Bastogne-Liège, among other victories.

The World Cup came after Van Vleuten knows how to handle his experience to perfection during the online exam. The women face the ocean a circuit of 164.3 kilometers, departing from Helensburgh and arriving at Woollonong, in the rainy season. The first part of the route, about fifty kilometers, has the greatest difficulty in climbing Mount Keira, about fourteen kilometers of difficulty. Later, the peloton tackled six laps of a circuit with hard ramp difficulties, almost consecutively, Mount Ouatley and Mount Pleasant.

So, it is expected that the first choice of the bunch will come in the first part of the test. the british Elynor Backstedtthe Swedish Caroline Anderson and the Belgians Julie Van de Velde They left the peloton to reach the circuit that would decide the world champion. Among the applicants fell, behind, the Belgian Lotte Kopeckyalthough he was able to rejoin the platoon shortly afterwards.

About seventy kilometers from the end, the group ahead was selected. Andersson he stayed as he pressed the peloton to try to reduce the distance on the breakaways. It was placed below minutes after. Until, just over fifty kilometers from the end, the breakaways were swallowed up to start a new race.

Great job from the Netherlands.

The pace picked up and an attack came from the Australian sarah roy. In several kilometers of uncertainty and anxiety, it was, however, a Polish step Katarzyna Niewiadoma on the final climb up Mount Pleasant waking up the peloton favourites. Because the Italian reacted to him Elisa Longo Borghini and the South African left with them Ashley Molman, the danish Cecilie Uttrup and the german Liane Lippert.

Behind, however, the Netherlands worked. With the vigilance of Mavi Garcia, Ellen van Dijk and Marianne Vos they led the chase with their companion Annemiek van Vleuten. They closed the gap on escapes, but again Moolman, Uttrup, Niewiadoma, Lippert and Longo Borghini they started again on the last climb.

However, the work of the Dutch team was again impeccable. They came back to close the gap with a lot of work to serve a chance Van Vleutenin a large group where mavi cannot be included and he threatened to play with the sprint medals.

however, the Movistar cyclistinstead of waiting for the last speed tip, attacked at the beginning of the last kilometer. The hesitation of the chasing group and the lack of energy, when there is doubt whether they will be needed later in a sprint, gave Van Vleuten the meters he needed to fight the final sprint of his pursuers down the finishing straight and hang the gold medal.

in the back, Kopecky he took the sprint for silver, almost a second behind but had no option to overtake the winner. Persian copper is hung. In its part, mavi garcia was twenty-fifth, thirteen seconds behind the winner, with Ane Santesteban 30th at 4:50.

In this way, Van Vleuten puts a magical touch on an absolutely historical period. After showing her most human version in the World Cup, the Dutchwoman returned to dominate a great cycling event with an iron hand to dress in the rainbow again and end a year for eternity.