World and Olympic road champion aiming for a sixth off road rainbow in Louisville
World and Olympic champion Marianne Vos (Rabobank) will begin her cyclocross season on November 25th, at the Superprestige in Gieten, Netherlands, the race organiser has announced. The 25-year-old, who took a record fifth cyclocross World title in January, but has missed the start of the season as she takes a rest after her unprecedentedly successful road season. She is currently relaxing on the Netherlands Antilles island of Curacao, where she took part in the mixed Amstel Curacao Race.
“I start cyclocross again on November 25th in Gieten,” said Vos in Het Nieuwsblad, “I feel morally obliged to the Dutch to start one of the few Dutch ‘cross races.
“After that I’ll do all of the cyclocross season, including the World Championships in Louisville,” she confirmed.
Vos’ 2011/12 started on the sand dunes of the Koksijde World Cup race last season, where she finished second to compatriot Daphny van den Brand. This was to be the low point of the World champion’s season however, as she was undefeated for the next 17 races; including all four of the remaining World Cups, the Netherlands championship, and the World title on the same Koksijde course.
Her only other off road defeat came in the very last race of the season, where she was outsprinted by van den Brand in the then 33-year-old’s retirement race. Vos and the rest of the field wore their hair in twin braids, in tribute to van den Brand’s iconic look, but denied having allowed the elder rider to win.
The Gieten Superprestige – which marked Vos’ first victory of last year – comes the day after the Koksijde World Cup, which means that the World champion will not race on the venue where she took her rainbow jersey this year.
Despite many of the sport’s top women choosing to sit out the Superprestiges, due to the women’s races’ 10:45am start times, the Gieten organiser has also confirmed the participation of British and – recently crowned – European champion Helen Wyman (Kona), Belgian champion Sanne Cant (Enertherm-BKCP), and Vos’ teammate and compatriot – and winner of the Tabor World Cup race – Sanne van Paassen.