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By Fred Dreier
Photo: Fred Dreier
All eyes will be on Dutchwoman Marianne Vos at Wednesday’s La Fleche Wallonne Femenine, the women’s component of Fleche-Wallonne. Vos is the two-time defending champion of the women’s race, which this year marks the fourth round of the UCI women’s World Cup. And Vos won the last World Cup, the Ronde van Drenthe, held in her home country on April 13.
The women’s Fleche is 97.5 kilometers, and completes the same large loop on the southern bank of the Meuse river that the men tackle after riding from their starting line in Charleroi. The women start and finish atop the brutal Mur de Huy which, for the past two years, has helped vault Vos to victory.
Vos will have her eyes on Olympic champ Nicole Cooke, herself a three-time Fleche champ, as well as World Cup leader Emma Johannson of Sweden. Americans Amber Neben (Nurnberger), Kim Anderson and Mara Abbott (Columbia-Highroad) are also potential contenders. VeloNews caught up with Vos for a brief chat about what the day might hold for her.
VeloNews: With many climbs before the Mur, this seems like a difficult race to try and control.
Marianne Vos: Yes, and you can’t do it easily with your team. There are many strong teams here who want to be at the front for the last climb. So while it looks like this race is just a sprint on that last climb, it feels like a sprint for 100 kilometers. It is very difficult.
VN: How is your form for this race?
MV: I feel really good. Last week I felt good in the races so I think that tomorrow I can have a good result. I may have a chance. You must save some energy for the Mur but it is also important to see how the race develops. Saving energy for the Mur is not just my plan but it is the plans of many others. But at Huy if I’m in the lead group then I know I can have a good sprint.
VN: You just came off a year where you won the Olympic points race and the cyclocross world title. Is it difficult to find motivation to begin another season racing?
MV: No, it was actually last year that was so difficult. Last year only the Olympics was the main goal, the World Cups didn’t matter. This year I can have many more objectives. Fleche Wallonne, the Tour of Flanders, they are all big races. I like this more, to have more objectives.
VN: You’ve won most of the big races on the planet at least once. What’s left for you to achieve?
MV: The stage races I need to improve in. I’m not a climber and I’m not really a time trial specialist. So I need to improve on those to become a stage race contender. And that will be my main goal in the coming years.