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Yellow jersey since the second stage, Marianne Vos is enjoying her Tour de France Women. At 35, the one nicknamed the “Cannibal” of women’s cycling has already won almost everything.
At 35, Marianne Vos is quite simply the greatest winner in women’s cycling. During her already long career, she raised her arms 241 times, winning on all grounds and all races. His last victory to date, Monday July 25 between Meaux and Provins, however wrote an unprecedented line: a yellow jersey on a Women’s Tour de France which, it should be remembered, has come back to life after 33 years of absence.
A statistic demonstrates the absolute domination of Marianne Vos at the start of the Tour: her worst place is fifth on the white paths stage. Otherwise the Dutch rider has always finished on the podium (1 victory, twice second and a third place).
>> To read also: Tour de France Women: on the dreaded white paths of the 4th stage, “there is a part of luck”
Listing his entire track record would simply take too long. Broadly speaking: three times world champion on the road, Olympic champion on the road (2012) and on the track (2008), eight times world champion in cyclo-cross in addition to three Tour of Italy (and 32 stage victories on this one) and five Fleche Wallone.
The immensity of his career earned him the nickname “Cannibal”, a reference to the Belgian Eddy Merckx, considered the greatest cyclist in history with his 625 victories.
Impressive from an early age
Native of the Netherlands, Marianne Vos was only five years old when she started cycling, initially to imitate her brother Anton. She competed in her first races at the age of eight and already began to lift her arms at the age of 14. She quickly stood out for her strength and versatility, able to shine in juniors on all cycling terrains, from road to mountain bike.
The idea of being a professional came to her when she won the title of road world champion for the first time in Verona (Italy) as a junior: “When I won my first rainbow jersey in 2004 , the idea of a career as a professional cyclist crossed my mind. There weren’t many girls who were 100% dedicated to it, but I decided to give it a shot and make my better, she says on her personal website.
Proof of her versatility, in 2006 she became the first to win a world championship title in three different disciplines: road, track and cyclo-cross. She is only 21 years old.
The Tour de France, a special event
In the winners of the “Cannibal” also, two victories on La Course by Le Tour, a one-day race organized as a curtain raiser to a stage of the men’s Grande Boucle. She had also won the first edition on the Champs-Elysées in 2014.
The Tour holds a special place in the heart of the young woman. As a child, she and her parents were part of this “Republic of July”, vacationers who follow the Tour de France by the side of the roads.
“We were going to Alpe d’Huez, to the sprint finishes, to Pau”, she said again at the start in Meaux on Monday. “That was how we spent our summer holidays, over the course of the motorhome race,” she explained before the start of the Tour.
“The Tour is bigger than sport, it’s a global event all around the world. It has a big impact on the fans, we’re going to show women’s cycling all around the world”, she rejoiced before to begin his competition, in the documentary series produced by ASO, the organizer of the Tour de France.
If she came close to victory from the first stage on the Champs-Elysées, she did not miss her chance on the second to put on the yellow jersey. What satisfy her and convince her to put away the bibs from the top of her 35 years?
“Age is just a number,” she said with a smile during the press conference in Provins after her victorious stage. “I feel good. The most important thing is to have success and motivation. As long as I’m healthy, I keep going. I always enjoy training.”
Yellow jersey all the way?
However, the Jumbo-Visma rider presented herself on this Tour without great certainty. She had certainly started her 2022 season with an eighth crown of cyclo-cross world champion in Fayetteville, in the United States, but her recovery on the road is thwarted by the Covid-19. She must give up the second women’s Paris-Roubaix in history when she dreams of storing the pavement of winner in her gallery of trophies after her second place in the dantesque inaugural edition. She only competed for 11 days of road racing before the Big Loop. However, she reassured herself at the Giro by winning two stages before leaving it to save herself for the Tour.
For the moment, the yellow jersey seems firmly anchored on his shoulders. On the roads between Troyes and Bar-Sur-Aube, it showed itself to its advantage avoiding the pitfalls. She currently has almost a minute on the two favorites announced for the final victory, Demi Vollering (SD Workx) and Annemieke Van Vleuten (Movistar). However, Marianne Vos is no longer as sharp in the mountains as in the past. Will she still try to sell her skin dearly?
“You have to be realistic. With the climbs coming this weekend, the climbers and contenders for the general classification will take up a lot of my time. It will be a totally different race that will start in the last two stages”, carefully ruled out Marianne Your. “I’m just relishing wearing the yellow jersey right now.”
>> To read also: Lorena Wiebes, gifted sprinter and first yellow jersey in the history of the Tour de France Women
The living legend of her sport is expected to focus on another jersey, the green top sprinter jersey, which she also owns but is battling with fellow sprint prodigy Lorena Wiebes. Not sure that she is quite ready to give way so easily to youth.
