Annemiek van Vleuten was announced this Saturday in Wollongong (Australia) world champion in online mode for the second time in his career, where two individual time trial titles also shone. The cyclist of Movistardespite an elbow injury, capped off a magical year in which he had also previously won Giro d’Italia, Tour de France and Vuelta a Españaamong other hits. For this reason, he was very happy with the statements for the Spanish team.
“I couldn’t believe it. I was waiting for the moment to come when they told me it wasn’t true. But I work with Marianne! So, in the end, there came a moment when I was left alone in the chasing group, when he could not return, and I thought: ‘Okay, I know I can’t sprint because of my broken elbow, but I can try'”, reported the Dutch. “I have waited until the last moment to start, I only had one option, one. I gave it my all and I thought they would catch me for the sprint… but they never came in again.“, celebrated.
Van Vleuten didn’t have the strength to raise his arms at the finish line after a very difficult day due to his injury and a very difficult route, made worse by the rain. “It has been hell. I could not stand in the saddle, as I would like to do. My legs felt like they were going to explode on the climb. I had to run completely different than I usually do, because I wanted to start from Mount Keira, but with the elbow, it was impossible”, he explained. “Marianne was our leader and I went out of the herd… and here . Me, world champion”, he celebrated.
Van Vleuten explains how he lived that day. “The two road titles have a history. This morning I was debating whether to wear the earring that my father gave me, because I didn’t think I would have any options, but I thought: ‘Well, if in the end they always give me luck'”, he smiles. “I want to race like in Yorkshire, it’s not possible because of the injury , and in the end, Although it was not 105 km of attack, it was an incredible last kilometer. Two rainbows with something to say on the back,” he explained.
In this way, Van Vleuten walked away with his gold from a championship where he had to suffer a lot. “I wanted to win on Wednesday. It’s a shame to fall, because I know we have a good choice. Probably the best after what happened at CRI, but here we are”, he explained. “In 2020 I didn’t enjoy the rainbow much because of the pandemic; now I will taste it to the fullest”, he said.
Source: La Verdad
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