The sight of Annemiek van Vleuten has grow to be a standard sight on the roads of Colombia over every winter of the previous three years. She as soon as used the excessive elevation of the paved roads for coaching, to construct into the early highway season together with her Movistar Workforce. This 12 months the Dutch rider may have an altogether completely different motivation as she works her approach throughout the rugged terrain of the Andes for the eight days of Transcordilleras.
The Transcordilleras Rally Colombia has taken maintain as a formidable gravel race with former WorldTour professionals like Laurens ten Dam, Thomas Dekker and Peter Stetina using arduous throughout the three imposing mountain ranges alongside South America’s equator. For this version, Ten Dam and Dekker return to compete within the continuous, self-supported class, whereas the eight-day, self-supported stage race consists of newcomers Russell Finsterwald, who received Massive Sugar Gravel in 2022, and Whitney Allison, who was second total on the 2023 Belgian Waffle Trip Quadrupel Crown.
Van Vleuten, then again, is not going to be pinning a quantity on, so don’t search for her to dash to any mountain summits or end strains towards the opposite retired highway and mountain bike professionals, as it’s the supported occasion she has opted for. Since retiring final fall from a 16-year highway profession, she says it’s time to as a substitute take pleasure in new elements of Colombia off a highway bike and with no considered competitors.
“I’m not racing for a end result, only for the journey, and simply to complete it, or perhaps not,” she laughed as she advised Cyclingnews about her time in Colombia this 12 months. “If I really feel like ending, I’ll end. So I just like the idea.”
The idea is a bicycle trip, not a race. Alongside together with her boyfriend and a former teammate, Van Vleuten embarks on the eight-day Transcordilleras this Sunday with Altos, a bicycle journey firm, and can journey the ‘lazy model’. Altos will organize all accommodations, clear and restore bikes with supplied mechanics, and permit for a extra relaxed expedition on blended terrain, which incorporates loads of tough gravel and washed-out dust paths.
“I additionally wish to take part right here as a result of folks assume for positive I will likely be aggressive. Folks say, ‘Why are you not racing there?’ However that half, I’m carried out with racing. I had the stress to carry out and I needed to go for outcomes. Been there, carried out that,” Van Vleuten stated.
“That is simply tremendous good, a brand new approach of having fun with the bike. I’m not within the race and it feels very nice.”
Her former Rabobank-Liv Biking teammate, Iris Slappendel – who retired from highway racing in 2016 and co-founded The Cyclists Alliance – accepted a late invitation to hitch the journey.
“Iris Slappendel was eager for a gravel journey and I believe it’s extra enjoyable to do that good journey collectively. So I see this as a solution to see Colombia by bike,” Van Vleuten stated. “I’ll see many good roads I’ve by no means seen earlier than as a result of I used to be solely coaching on my highway bike. It’s a spot I do know already, however [gravel] is new for me.
“In fact, I had contact with Laurens [ten Dam] concerning the gear and the supplies, and the width of the tyres, as a result of I’ve no clue about gravel.”
A fellow Dutchman, Ten Dam was the proper rider to ask, given completed second to Stetina on the 2022 Transcordilleras after which received the 2023 outing of 852km and 21,000 metres of climbing.
“Additionally I’ve a bit of bit of hysteria that will probably be a minimal of six hours every day so it is not going to really feel a lot like a relaxed day. We’ll get some challenges. It’s a part of the enjoyment to undergo a bit,” she stated.
A part of the anxiousness got here from being off the bike for 4 weeks earlier than travelling to South America. She arrived on the finish of January to take part in a six-day, luxurious tour across the Colombian Espresso area with Altos, climbing to the best paved highway of Colombia to Alto de Letras (4,000 metres) and staying close to an lively volcano. It was on a highway bike with a small group of riders on vacation, and served to get her some hours within the saddle and her physique adjusted to the elevation close to the Andes.
“I didn’t actually prepare or put together for it. Really, I didn’t prepare in any respect. The final 4 weeks earlier than I got here right here to Colombia I used to be with my mom, having a pleasant vacation collectively. I didn’t contact my bike for 4 weeks. So I might really feel that once I acquired right here and began to journey the bike once more.
A little bit of a dent in bike health, nevertheless, is not one thing to concern however simply part of the brand new section the place the bike is not a instrument of commerce, however as a substitute one among recreation.
“It’s time for brand spanking new challenges and I’ll nonetheless benefit from the bike.”
