Marianne Vos (Visma-Lease a Bike) missed out on the rostrum on the Dutch Cyclocross Championships received by Puck Pieterse (Fenix-Alpecin) on Sunday in Oisterwijk.Â
The previous eight-time cyclocross world champion mentioned the tempo was just too quick and by mid-race “The candle went out”.
“Puck was gone shortly. Then I used to be on Ceylin’s wheel (Del Carmen Alvarado) for some time, however after some time, my candle went out. I might nonetheless maintain going a bit, however the tempo was down,” Vos informed Wielerflits in a post-race interview.
Vos made a long-awaited return to cyclocross after practically two years out, on the World Cup in Besançon on December 29. Her final cyclocross look was on the Benidorm World Cup in January 2023 as she skipped the whole subsequent 2023-24 ‘cross season to recuperate from iliac artery surgical procedure undergone in August of that 12 months. It was the primary full cyclocross marketing campaign that Vos had missed since her injury-plagued 2015 season.
On the Dutch Championships, two of the pre-race favourites weren’t in attendance, Fem van Empel (Visma-Lease a Bike) and Lucinda Model (Baloise Glowi Lions), and Pieterse proved the strongest of these racing, setting a quick tempo proper off out of the beginning grid.
Vos shortly adopted Del Carmen Alvarado, however the pair misplaced time to Pieterse. Del Carmen Alvarado then distanced Vos. A chasing Denise Betsema then reconnected with Vos earlier than surging forward, leaving Vos to accept fourth place on the day.
“Then Denise shortly got here nearer. I attempted to maintain my rhythm, however in the long run, I nonetheless ended up in fourth place,” Vos mentioned.Â
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“I needed to bow my head on the end, however that was primarily due to the struggling. It was a good looking cross, however a really robust one. Regardless of the struggling, I nonetheless loved myself right now.”
Dutch Nationwide coach Gerben de Knegt mentioned that Vos, in session with the coaches, would resolve after the Besançon World Cup, the place she completed fifth, whether or not she would compete on the UCI Cyclocross World Championships on February 1-2.
Her return to cyclocross comes off the again of one other stellar street marketing campaign in 2024, which noticed her take wins at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, Amstel Gold Race and two levels of the Vuelta, and the inexperienced jersey on the Tour de France. She then capped off the season with one other rainbow jersey on the Gravel World Championships in Leuven.
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