'To be at the start of the Tour de France; that was win number one' says Jumbo-Visma rider as she looks back at recent year
Marianne Vos with Jumbo-Visma(Image credit: Getty Images)
Marianne Vos will embark on her 18th season in the peloton, and with the progress of women's cycling and the growth of the Women's WorldTour, she said there is a lot to look forward to in 2023.
Vos is currently training at altitude in Tenerife, but she spoke to an audience via a video interview at the Jumbo-Visma presentation on Thursday. Her focus is currently on the upcoming cyclocross races, but when the season shifts into road racing, Vos said she was looking forward to the Spring Classics and any of the new races on the calendar.
"There are always things to work toward [in the new year]. There are some beautiful new races on the calendar. Last year, there was the Tour de France, but the sport of women's cycling is growing so fast that every year you need to step up. As a team, we need to be there and be competitive," Vos said of her ambitions for the 2023 season.
The top-tier calendar includes four new races: UAE Tour to be launched, Tour Down Under, Omloop Het Nieuwsblad and Tour de Suisse, all promoted.
"First of all, it's the cyclocross season around the corner, but then we have some great Spring Classics that I am looking forward to. Now we have the three Grand Tours throughout the year and a lot to work toward. Most of all, I'm looking forward to racing with the team and going out there and having fun together and trying to go for the victory."
Vos will continue her cyclocross season at Koksijde X20 Trophy (January 5), Zonhoven World Cup (January 8), Dutch National Championships (January 15), Benidorm World Cup (January 22) and the UCI Cyclocross World Championships in Hoogerheide (February 4).
"I'm in Tenerife at an altitude camp now. It was quite a hard and intense training today but to my satisfaction, and so I'm happy to have made it in time for the team presentation as well," Vos said.
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"I'm obviously in the middle of the cyclocross season and working toward my next goals. My first races back will be Koksijde and then Zonhoven, and then working toward the Dutch and World Championships, both in the Netherlands - two beautiful and big races coming up."
Vos had another remarkable season with Jumbo-Visma, securing an eighth cyclocross world title, four stage wins at the Tour of Scandinavia, and two stage wins at the Giro d'Italia Donne. She also won two stages at the Tour de France Femmes, where she led the race wearing the yellow jersey for five of the eight days and won the green jersey.
"In such a year, it is difficult to pick a [favourite] victory. It was great to take the world title in Fayetteville at the start of the year; of course, good memories of that," Vos said.
"During the road season, the Tour de France was beyond expectations for women's cycling. It was really cool to be there and to be able to perform at our highest level with the team, and fighting for yellow and then green was fantastic."
Marianne Vos in the yellow jersey at the Tour de France Femmes (Image credit: Getty Images)
Vos had won the inaugural edition of La Course by Le Tour de France in 2014 and again in 2019 but said that ASO's decision to create the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift in 2022 was a victory for women's cycling.
"It was fantastic to be at the start of the Tour de France; that was win number one. Of course, we had La Course before, which was step one, and it was great that ASO started with that, and this year we had the Grand Tour with an eight-day stage race," Vos said.
The Tour de France Femmes, an event that was held at one point from 1984-89, was a resounding success in terms of racing, but also branding and marketability. The media, fan presence, and interest spoke volumes to the race's popularity internationally.
"As riders, we didn't know what to expect or how big it was going to be. From the fan side, media side, even the tension in the bunch, it was as big as you can imagine," Vos said.
Vos will continue her preparation for both the cyclocross and road seasons into the New Year. Asked in the team presentation if she plans on taking a break over the holidays and, perhaps, enjoying some chocolate, Vos laughed and said, "Yes, definitely, a little bit. It's always good to keep a balance."
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Kirsten Frattini is the Deputy Editor of Cyclingnews, overseeing the global racing content plan.
Kirsten has a background in Kinesiology and Health Science. She has been involved in cycling from the community and grassroots level to professional cycling's biggest races, reporting on the WorldTour, Spring Classics, Tours de France, World Championships and Olympic Games.
She began her sports journalism career with Cyclingnews as a North American Correspondent in 2006. In 2018, Kirsten became Women's Editor – overseeing the content strategy, race coverage and growth of women's professional cycling – before becoming Deputy Editor in 2023.
