Setmana Valenciana (st. 3)

Olympic champion -supported by solid Movistar Team- goes on the attack at final climbs of Setmana Valenciana's Queen stage, leads GC in Spain with comfortable margin one day before race's end.

She left absolutely no chance to her rivals and opened the women’s Movistar Team’s 2022 account – just like she did in 2021. Annemiek van Vleuten responded well to the bookies’ expectations and claimed an impressive Queen stage victory, plus the GC lead, in the Setmana Valenciana as the Telefónica-backed squad now sits just 24 hours away from a significant milestone: becoming the only squad in the Spanish race to have obtained back-to-back success in the traditional opener of the cycling season.

‘Miek’ took the solo success in Vistabella del Maestrazgo, end of a very demanding stage three -135km with three Cat-1 ascents-, after big work from her team-mates up to the second ascent, El Collao, with Martín -on the move early on-, González, Oyarbide, Rodríguez and, on the ascent, strong turns from Aalerud and Patiño.

In company of Uttrup Ludwig, Cavalli (FDJ) and García (UAD) until the last 1.5km of the climb, Van Vleuten would end up leaving the others behind with another series of attacks and build ever stronger gaps through to the finish line -more than one minute on second-placed Uttrup-. A resounding victory which could become two, should they get through the flat, still dangerous, stage four between Sagunto and Valencia.

REACTION / Annemiek van Vleuten:

“It was super nice to see the team again working super well together, after they found themselves a little bit struggling over the first two days – it was great to see that everyone could find each other, together in the front, all the time I had team-mates around me.

“I knew that it got steeper with 17km to go inside the penultimate climb, with a 7% gradient while the following part was 5%. That, combined with block headwind, made it more easy for the other girls to sit on my wheel. I hesitated a bit about attacking from that far, but then again, I thought that the longer the effort, it would be the better for me. I asked Paula (Patiño) to set the pace, Katrine (Aalerud) then took over and on the 7% part, I went and only García, Uttrup and Cavalli were with me.

“I stayed for 4-5 kilometers full gas, with them in my wheel, then I asked them to take over, and Cavalli and Uttrup followed suit, while García did not. There was one moment when Cavalli left a gap for Uttrup Ludwig to try an attack. It was 1.5km from the top, I went to close the gap and took advantage from that steeper corner and thought it would be the time to make the effort and try to give them a harder time. And so I was alone already! It was perfect because otherwise, it would have been easier for them in the following part to follow the wheel.

“Something I can do well is time trialling towards the finish, and that’s what I tried to did for the end of the ascent and the following climb. The radio didn’t work over the last climb, but with 2km to go, the car came to coach me and encourage me, and it gave me goosebumps. I’m confident tomorrow that we can defend this.

“With such a GC, and tomorrow’s course, it should be easier. For sure we need to be super focused for tomorrow, but we can also expect to have some help from sprinters’ teams. One more day and hopefully we can get that orange home again!

“In general, it was a good test of my legs, I did so much training over the winter and I’m so happy that it pays off. People know that I train a lot, and on a day like this, over longer climbs, one-hour efforts, which I simulate on my training, and so it helps me to have done that.”