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Annemiek van Vleuten is pleased to see that teams and riders are raising their game to beat her this season, but the Dutch superstar says that women’s cycling is about way more than just her.
Some teams and riders, such as FDJ-Suez, have already stated their intentions to top the Movistar rider before she retires at the end of the season. Van Vleuten dominated the stage races last year, winning almost every multi-day event she entered, including the Giro d’Italia Donne and the Tour de France Femmes.
While she would like people to look at more than just her when guiding their tactics, Van Vleuten is using that focus to push her on as she tries to hit it big in her final season of racing.
“If I can be the reason they want to lift their game, I’m proud and it’s good for the level of women’s cycling that it will be higher,” Van Vleuten told VeloNews in a recent video call. “It’s a bit sad to reduce women’s cycling to only being about beating Annemiek van Vleuten. Especially at the classics, I think some teams had their tactics last year only focused on me, and then other girls won, so I think it’s sad to reduce women’s cycling to Annemiek van Vleuten.
“In the stage races, yes, but that’s only three races. First, […]
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