After her barnstorming solo raid within the Yorkshire Dales to assert her maiden World Championships victory in 2019, Annemiek van Vleuten had solely 15 race days within the rainbow jersey. However after the “finest victory in my entire profession” on the Wollongong Worlds, the 39-year-old now has the proper curtain name to her profession, racing her closing season within the professional peloton clad in rainbows.
“That’s the finest,” a delighted Van Vleuten stated within the UCI Street World Championships post-race press convention.
“That was additionally why I used to be so tremendous upset after I broke my elbow. I additionally knew the course and once they introduced the course for subsequent 12 months, I used to be already sneakily taking a look at it and what number of altitude metres there shall be. So I had the sensation that that is my greatest likelihood.
“So now that I’m right here and World Champion subsequent 12 months, and may put on the jersey on a regular basis, it’s fairly a narrative.”
As an ephemeral rainbow emerged above the end line in Wollongong following a day of rain and solar showers, a permanent rainbow jersey awaited Van Vleuten on the end line.
“I believe perhaps that is my finest victory in my entire profession. With the entire week that I’ve been by way of, I do not know. Yeah it’s fairly a narrative,” the Dutch rider stated within the winner’s press convention, with lengthy pauses punctuating her responses as she got here to phrases along with her victory.
Van Vleuten’s first season within the rainbow jersey was minimize brief, first by the pandemic after which by a crash on the Giro Rosa that ended with a damaged wrist on the eve of her Worlds defence. A Worlds by which Anna van der Breggen gained a 12 months earlier than retiring to make sure a closing rainbow season. A feat now emulated by compatriot Van Vleuten.
“That’s the finest [thing], that every single day you might have the reminder that you’re World Champion,” stated Van Vleuten who turns forty in two weeks at present. “To take it this 12 months is best than subsequent 12 months, so now I can get pleasure from it on a regular basis. After I was World Champion and we had the Covid state of affairs I couldn’t race plenty of races in my World Championships jersey. [But] I nonetheless skilled rather a lot in my jersey.”
“To race within the rainbow makes me actually proud.”
‘Concentrate on what continues to be attainable’
On Wednesday afternoon, Van Vleuten was laying on the bottom in shock. In a cut up second, her World Championships appeared over after a mechanical triggered her to crash lower than 20 pedal strokes into the Blended Relay TTT. Not solely was her quick race over, however any likelihood of competitively racing Saturday’s highway race appeared to have sunk as shortly as Van Vleuten’s fall to the bottom.
But when there may be one rider you don’t write off, it’s Van Vleuten.
On Thursday night on the Dutch group resort in Sydney, Van Vleuten advised Cyclingnews that issues can change and there was no have to panic. Her coaching journey earlier that day had been a hit, transferring from the rollers within the resort to the Sydney streets. The medical doctors had advised her that she would do no additional harm to her elbow. Ache can be her solely barrier.
Since 2016, Van Vleuten has skilled nice setbacks in her profession, using the best of highs and lowest of lows. The world’s primary rider within the ladies’s peloton has continued to set targets and obtain her objectives regardless of these setbacks. The key to Van Vleuten’s success throughout these latter years of her profession when she has gained nearly each attainable race, has been to not dwell on the what-ifs.
“I see lots of people who get caught in negativity about what occurred,” Van Vleuten advised Cyclingnews on Thursday. “It’s essential give your self time to be unhappy about what occurred. However you give your self such an enormous current if you happen to don’t get caught in what occurred and attempt to make the perfect out of the state of affairs that’s there. Don’t look again. Final night time, I used to be not enthusiastic about what occurred. It occurred so let’s make the perfect out of this.”
On the winner’s press-conference in Wollongong on Saturday night, Van Vleuten was requested – how does she do it? How does she preserve bouncing again? Pausing, she expanded on how she has developed her psychological fortitude by way of a number of setbacks.
“A talent I developed due to all these shitty moments, is to suppose in impossibilities. Don’t be destructive about what occurred,” she stated. “Lots of people often get caught in what occurred. I believe all of the shitty moments in my profession taught me that it’s means higher to deal with what continues to be attainable and never look behind, look ahead. I believe that may be a talent I developed fairly nicely.
“However I’ve to say this time, it was laborious to suppose that it was nonetheless attainable. I used to be not considering it in any respect and no less than I used to be not destructive with my teammates. I attempted to be optimistic and so they didn’t see me crying. I simply needed to be teammate.”
Within the blended zone after the race, a frozen Ellen Van Dijk was the final rider to depart. The Time Trial World Champion from Wednesday paused to observe the published of Van Vleuten singing alongside to the Dutch nationwide anthem through the medal ceremony. Earlier than clipping in and wheeling away searching for heat and celebration, Van Dijk remarked of her teammate, “She is a particular human being who retains shocking everyone, so I ponder what’s subsequent?.”
