COUNTER POINT
COACHING A CHAMPION
Marianne Vos’s coach tells Procycling what sets the Dutchwoman apart and how you train such a unique rider
Writer Sophie Hurcom
Image Luc Claessen/Getty Images
There’ll be a time, probably not too far in the future, when Marianne Vos will have retired and cycling will have to reckon with having witnessed a once-in-a-lifetime rider. No other rider in history has a spread of victories as vast and as varied as the Dutchwoman. Her wins include world titles across three disciplines in road, cyclo-cross and track, and she has had a long, long career.
What is most remarkable about Vos is that she is still prolifically winning and looked as strong as ever as the 2021 season began at Strade Bianche. 2019 was one of her best ever in terms of results, and produced 19 victories, her highest tally since 2014 and the most in the peloton that season. Last year, despite a disrupted season that produced limited racing, Vos won three times, placing her in joint fourth on the list of wins for the year. It was fitting that her three 2020 wins all came at the Giro Rosa - two from flat bunch sprints, one atop a steep, short hill - as looking back through her record at the Italian race showcases Vos’s calibre. As well as having won three Giro GC titles, Vos has now won 28 stages there. Her first stage win came in 2007 and in the years since, she’s won at least one stage here for nine editions of the race. Every time she has lined up in Italy, she’s come away with a victory.