Four months have passed since we last had the privilege of seeing Annemiek van Vleuten in competition. it was in the past romandie tour, where the Dutch woman debuted her brand new rainbow jersey to close the season with a second place overall in the Swiss round. From today until Sunday, the reigning world champion will have a most emotional and special date with the Return to the Valencian Community (YouTube and Twitch), where he will defend his title last year in what is his debut this season and, in turn, the beginning of her last campaign as a professional runner.
Van Vleuten will be, as usual, the great favorite in a date that supposes the start of the rounds in stages in European territory. He will arrive with the maximum guarantees of immediate performance, since he has just returned to Europe after a six-week high-altitude concentration in Colombia, where he has crowned peaks of more than 3,600 meters. “I have a bit of jet lag too, of course, so we’ll see how it goes. But I am very excited and confident. It’s a good race to start with.” analyzed the Dutch woman on her personal website.
Movistar will cover him with an interesting block (Sara Martín, Aalerud, Mackaij, Patiño and Sierra) for the mid-mountain that predominates in this edition, with the intention that its great star reaches another milestone in his career: one hundred victories as a professional (sum 98). In the list of applicants are the Spanish Mavi Garcia, which also debuts this year, Amanda Spratt, Juliette Labous and Cecilie Utrupp Ludwig. The third stage, with the consecutive ascents of Tudons (15.4 km at 5%) and Confrides (6.5 km at 4.8%) on the way to Altea is presumed to be decisive.
Profiles and route of the Women’s Volta
Stage 1
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Stage 2
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stage 3
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stage 4
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