NOS Cycling•today, 06:24
Cycling pension? Vos (37) is aiming for Sanremo and Roubaix: ‘No day is the same’
Marianne Vos turns 38 in May, but she still has the ambitions of an 18-year-old. Of course the cyclist wants to win Paris-Roubaix, her dream race that she has never won before. And there is a new race on the women’s calendar: Milan-San Remo, one of the goals of Vos and her Visma-Lease a Bike team in 2025.
Another year on the bike, another winter in cyclo-cross, another altitude training, another spring full of road classics. Fox loves it. The pleasure of cycling keeps her in the saddle, she says at the press day of her cycling team.
Of course, some days are better than others, Vos agrees. “But you have to keep looking for improvement. Keep challenging yourself.” Even if the cycling pension comes closer with every revolution.
“I am not concerned with how long I can continue. I like being able to compete at the highest level. To compete in finals. As long as I can do that, enjoy it and my environment supports that, then I am I would like to be there. The game remains incredibly fun to play.”
Vos continues: “I love the sport. I also love the development of the sport. Within this team there is always something to learn or something to improve on. I think the team gets better every year. That growth is nice to see. Now with new riders we can hopefully take another step.”
Ferrand-Prévot
One of those new riders is the French Olympic mountain bike champion Pauline Ferrand-Prévot, a great cyclist with big ambitions who has already won world titles in almost all disciplines on two wheels. Vos still knows her well from the time they rode together for Rabo-Liv.
“Marianne is someone I have a lot of respect for,” says the 32-year-old Frenchwoman, who is very happy to be back on the road. I really like Visma. “It feels like a big family here, like I’ve been here for years.”
It will be a learning year for Ferrand-Prévot, says sports director Rutger Tijssen. “She has signed for three years. In the first year we have to get to know each other, we have to discover where she is now. She is looking forward to being successful in grand tours.”
“I want to win the Tour once in the next three years,” says Ferrand-Prévot ambitiously. This spring she wants to ride at the front in the gravel classic Strade Bianche. For the time being, there are apparently more obvious things that the Frenchwoman has to get used to. “I especially have to learn to eat well while cycling.”
Vos thinks that Ferrand-Prévot has everything it takes to one day win the Tour. “But she is with the team for a long time for a reason. You have to give her time to get used to it. Everything will be different.”
Help win
She has been an asset from day one, says Vos. “With her winning mentality, her knowledge and her experience, she is a very nice addition to the team. I look forward to racing together.”
And Ferrand-Prévot also has another goal: “I want to help Marianne win Sanremo and the Amstel Gold Race.”
Vos about racing with Ferrand-Prévot: ‘Has everything to make a bid for Tour victory’
