When Annemiek van Vleuten set off for the opening prologue of the Simac Ladies Tour on Tuesday afternoon, things came full circle for the Dutch rider, who will officially retire at the end of this race.
16 years ago, in 2007, 24-year-old Van Vleuten was on stage for a small team and after meeting a few criteria, she was ready to compete in her first stage race. That race was the Holland Ladies Tour, the race we now know as the Simac Ladies Tour.
For the rider, who has since won multiple world titles as well as all three women’s Grand Tours and most of the great classics, her first stage race could not have been less successful. Van Vleuten didn’t even make it through one day, crashing on the opening stage and having to abandon her budding stage racing career just as she had started.
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“My skills weren’t that good yet!” Van Vleuten laughed, looking back on that race in an interview shared by her Movistar team ahead of her last race.
While memories of her first Simac Ladies Tour may not be positive, it seems fitting that this is where she draws the curtain on her illustrious career: back to where she started, at home, on streets she knows best.
“It’s nice to finish my career there and it’s also very close to home,” she said. “In my opinion, my name was written everywhere, the prologue was close to my home and also the last stage is close to my training ground in Arnhem, also very close to where I grew up and where mine is Mother still lives in Vorden. It just feels like a nice way to say goodbye.”
Although Van Vleuten’s last season was far from a lap of honor – she was still chasing big goals at the most important races on the calendar – her goodbye was already long and emotional, perhaps beginning on the last day of the Zwift Women’s Tour de France in July.
It was a race she wanted to win, defend her title from 2022 and end her Grand Tour career on a high. In the end, like so many athletes, there was no fairytale ending for Van Vleuten. She was passed on the climbs by young star Demi Vollering (SD Worx) and then slipped off the podium in the final time trial.
Read more: Changing of the guard between Demi Vollering and Annemiek van Vleuten on the Col du Tourmalet
However, the disappointment soon mixed with other emotions as the 40-year-old entered the final phase of her career.
“The team waiting for me at the finish line [of the Tour de France time trial] was heartbreaking,” recalled Van Vleuten. “And indeed, the World Cup continued. People said “thank you, thank you” to me because I was just going after my goals. That so many people have enjoyed my racing style and say they will miss it is something very special and also emotional for me.”
Most athletes may not appreciate what they’ve accomplished until most of their career is in the rear-view mirror, and Van Vleuten seems to be no different. As she reflected before her final race, she seemed to appreciate what she had achieved.
“I can proudly leave the sport. So thank you to all the people who say thank you because it means a lot to me.”
Leave a legacy
As well as ending her career proudly, Van Vleuten is leaving the sport in a very different place than she found it, be it developing her team Movistar, competing in the inaugural Tour de France Femmes or trying to find a healthier mindset to promote the sport.
Her journey with Movistar in particular seems to be one of the things Van Vleuten is most proud of. She joined the team in 2021, in its fourth year of existence, and has helped grow the roster from a small, mostly Spanish team into one of the most successful GC teams on the WorldTour.
“I’m really proud when I see the journey we’ve taken as a team with Movistar and where we’re coming from. Sometimes I still laugh a bit about how we did the first races and how inexperienced our team was and how super, super experienced we are now. Especially the biggest development they have developed is defending a GC. Nothing more needs to be said, everyone knows, and that’s the biggest thing.”
With new additions in recent seasons such as Tour de France stage winner Liane Lippert, rising Brit Claire Steels and young Australian talent Sarah Gigante, it’s clear that Movistar looks to a future without Van Vleuten and their achievements will strengthen the team continue to influence.
“There’s more talent in this team than the drivers realize,” she said. “Sometimes it starts with believing in yourself as a driver to get the best out of yourself.”
What’s next after retirement?
While it’s not hard to envision Van Vleuten taking on a role in the sport – whether as a DS like her old competitor Anna van der Breggen or elsewhere in cycling – the 40-year-old is primarily looking to take a break. It’s no secret that her accomplishments are the result of hard work and lots of training, and since announcing her retirement she has indicated that she can take some rest.
With her career ending at the Simac Ladies Tour on Sunday, Van Vleuten has very little left and that’s how she wants it to be.
“I’d really like to have a sabbatical and a year where I can say yes to some shorter projects and orientate myself a bit, find a new project that I want to be on and develop new qualities,” she said. “I signed up with the International Olympic Committee for a course for athletes who, like me, are going to quit. It’s a short course of eight things that tries to challenge you a bit to think about: “What have I actually learned in my career, what are my qualities, what do I want to develop further in the next part of my career?” .
“I’ll really enjoy not having to train when it’s raining in the Netherlands, when it’s cold, when the weather is bad. I will have a little more freedom. I was married to cycling so now I have more freedom to ride where I want without fear of losing my shape and form.”
It’s hard to predict what Van Vleuten’s final race will bring; After winning the Tour of Scandinavia, it’s clear she’s still in winning form, but perhaps a more relaxed ending is on the horizon. One thing is clear, though: she steps out with pride and positivity.
“I think the biggest compliment people can give me is that I’ve inspired them with some of my wins, that they’re finding ways to re-energize to look ahead and set positive goals and not getting stuck in negativity.”
“I’m super proud that I was part of this journey, it was the best end of my career.”
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