Marianne Vos (Jumbo-Visma) added another title to her long list of achievements, having secured the elite women's national title at the Dutch Gravel Championships on Saturday in Epe.
Vos won the 70-kilometre race, attacking halfway through the event, and finished solo, with Moniek Tenniglo taking second and Lorena Wiebes third in her last race for Team DSM.
It was a last-minute decision for Vos to compete in the gravel national championships event, and she noted that it fit well with her preparations for the cyclo-cross season.
Marianne Vos, the reigning cyclo-cross World Champion, starts her cyclo-cross campaign at Kiremko Nacht van Woerden on Tuesday, October 25.
She recently competed at the UCI Road World Championships in Wollongong, Australia, at the end of September and then took a short break.
She did not participate in the inaugural UCI Gravel World Championships held in Veneto in October, won by Pauline Ferrand-Prévot (France).
In Woerden, Vos will make her debut in her rainbow jersey with Jumbo-Visma after winning a remarkable eighth cyclo-cross world title in Arkansas in January.
Starting her cyclo-cross season later than most, Vos is also expected to compete at the Cyclo-cross World Cup Maasmechelen on October 30 and then the European Cyclo-cross Championships on November 5 in Namur.
"As evidenced by recent weeks, the level is high. The competition is on edge. I want to perform well, especially in light of the European Championships, which will take place on November 5 in Namur," Vos said.
She will also race at World Cup GP Beekse Bergen on November 13 in the Netherlands, Superprestige Merksplas on November 19 and World Cup Overijse on November 20.
"The [GP Beekse Bergen] course is unknown to everyone because this is a new cross on the calendar," said Vos. "I'm looking forward to this race. World Cup races in the Netherlands are extra special. Especially now that I get to start in the rainbow jersey."
