The 7th diary of this World Cup week has to be in the car due to circumstances
be included. And that is mainly the fault of slob Maarten Vangramberen.
“I am someone who forgets to take everything with me. So far it has been remarkably good, but today I forgot my iPad in the World Cup village. It’s an hour’s drive to the hotel, so I’ll treat you tonight.”
It’s just a minor flaw on this very eventful day. It started off refreshingly.
“We went swimming in a rock poolone of those beautiful pools in the sea that you see on TV. Fantastic.”
“We’ve found it to be a place where aboriginals have already come for their health.”
4 juniors in the top 20: “Efforts finally seem to be paying off”
But there was not much time to enjoy and relax. The entire team had to drive on to Wollongong, where the women’s categories drove their World Cup today.
“I think the news for our country is the 4 juniors who finished in the top 20. We have been working on the influx of young girls for years. The efforts finally seem to be paying off,” says Vangramberen.
Not much later there was of course the silver medal for Lotte Kopecky. A missed opportunity?
“I feel sorry for her. She was knocking her steering wheel in three, her teammates came to apologize. Second is the most thankless place in a World Cup. You want to drive around with that jersey, of course. At the Olympics she already finished 4th after a great race. Also ungrateful, just outside the medals.”
I happen to be in a WhatsApp group with Belgians in Australia. I know from them that a lot of buses come from Sydney on Sunday.
“But what Annemiek van Vleuten has done borders on the
unlikely. It was only in the last kilometer that she saw that Vos was not there. Then she tried it herself. She hadn’t anticipated a win before.”
“Normally she is very talkative during interviews, but today she was speechless. That says enough for me.”
Finally, the duo ends on a positive note: the audience. For the first time, Australian cycling fans showed interest in the World Cup.
Vangramberen: “I happen to be in a WhatsApp group with Belgians in Australia. I know from them that a lot of buses come from Sydney on Sunday. The weather will be nice, so it will be good.”
