Current world road race champion Marianne Vos has six months before she will defend her rainbow jersey in Tuscany, but the Dutchwoman is wasting little time in checking out the course for this year’s worlds.
She and several Rabobank team-mates travelled to Italy and did a reconnaissance of the team time trial and road race course; she will ride the first of those with her trade team and confirms that the course is relatively straightforward.
As for the road race route, it is altogether different. “It's a hard course. I already heard stories about it. It is going to be a tough world championship,” the 25 year old said. “It’s the whole lap, there is no recovery in the lap. After the first longer hill, there is a steep and fast downhill, and then again a really steep climb. You come there in a line, you come there already tired, so it is going to be really tough. With five laps, I don’t think there is going to be a group sprint in the city.”
Vos went into details about the climb, and its characteristics. “The final circuit of Fiesole is quite challenging; the first part, the Fiesole climb is linear and can be covered with ease, while especially the sprint of Salviati Street presents steep slopes which I think will make the difference.
“All in all on the whole final circuit there aren't many areas of recovery and it will be important to succeed in rationing out the energies in the best way in order to remain alert during the most crucial moment.”
Asked in the video above who she felt her most dangerous rivals were, she didn’t get drawn into naming names. While she is pleased to have checked out the course early, she knows that much can change in the months ahead in terms of her competitors, and that the riders in form won’t become apparent until closer to the event.
As a result, she prefers to focus on herself and her season. “I am going to wear this jersey for a year, I am going to wear it with pride, and I hope to do a good defence in September.”
Her chances will be boosted by the difficulty of the course. Rabobank’s women’s cycling team directeur sportif Koos Moerenhout is clear on the demands it will impose on the riders. “It's the toughest road race of recent years and will be very selective.” As for the team time trial, he sees it as a different proposition, describing it as fascinating despite a lack of climbs. “There are long straights that will allow the athletes to express their maximum capacity,” he said.
The current Olympic road race champion, Vos has dominated the sport in recent years. She has also been world champion on the track and in cyclo cross, and has confirmed that this year she will target mountain bike races as a new challenge.