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At 39, the Dutch Annemiek van Vleuten offered herself the Tour de France Women 2022 this Sunday July 31 by being imperial during the last two days devoted to the medium mountains. Annemiek van Vleuten wins the last stage at La Super Planche des Belles Filles, after her victory in the Vosges resort of Markstein the day before. van Vleuten had already won the Tour of Italy on July 10.
From our special correspondent on the Tour de France Women,
Last Monday, in Provins, Marianne Vos, 35, took the yellow jersey. The Dutch, with a prize list as provided as a toy store at Christmas, did not consider her age as a handicap. Quite the contrary. ” As long as I’m having fun and being competitive, I keep going. “, announced the star of women’s cycling.
Six days later, it was a compatriot, another star, even older, who stole his overcoat. Queen of high passes and time trials, Annemiek van Vleuten literally crushed the most complicated stage between Sélestat and the Vosges station of Markstein (127 km) on Saturday July 30 with three first category passes. Thus opening a royal road to the coronation.
Annemiek van Vleuten, on another planet
Sick at the start of the tour, Annemiek van Vleuten had regained her strength to disgust the competition and impose herself as the boss on Saturday July 30. ” I was full from start to finish. She’s on another planet “, sighed the French Evita Music, pale face and livid look.
55 kilometers from the finish, some girls were adrift, during the first passage on the line, while van Vleuten, irresistible, pressed on the pedals like an Indurain of the great years to blast the peloton. ” She is very strong despite her 39 years exclaimed a spectator who obviously knew the Olympic champion in the time trial in Tokyo. The former soccer player did well to buy a bike after her recurring knee injuries. On Saturday, thirteen competitors had been eliminated between abandonments and out of time, while van Vleuten seemed fresh as a roach.
Dutch supremacy
Victorious during the last Liège-bastogne-liège, Annemiek van Vleuten considered that the first day in the Vosges had it herself “ surprise ». « It might sound easy to you, but it wasn’t. “, she conceded to a journalist who reminded her of her astonishing ease in the mountains with this solo number. ” My style is to attack before the finale », recalled Annemiek van Vleuten.
To win the Women’s Tour de France, Annemiek van Vleuten was to return the cover on Sunday to La Super Planche des Belles Filles. Her comfortable lead over another Dutchwoman, Demi Vollering (3m 14s overall), should not have worried her. She managed without incident, despite some mechanical problems, this prestigious stage. In La Super Planche des Belles Filles, six kilometers from the finish, van Vleuten catches everyone’s cold and heads for a second stage win in a row.
After Lorena Wiebes, winner of the first stage and first in yellow, Marianne Vos, double winner and five days with the leader’s tunic, Annemiek van Vleuten confirmed the Dutch supremacy on the female cycling.
After 33 years of absence, this women’s Tour de France is won by an experienced woman. There was Annemiek van Vleuten and the cadets. The 2019 world champion left only crumbs during the last two toughest stages of this 2022 edition. With Annemiek van Vleuten, the notions of “youth” and “old age” are eminently relative.
