Van Vleuten all-in to defend Giro Rosa title
Annemiek van Vleuten will line-up as the sole leader of the Mitchelton-Scott team as she attempts to defend her title at the Giro Rosa from July 5-15. The time trial world champion is expecting the tough edition for this year's parcours with two summit finishes – Passo Gavia and Montasio – along with an uphill time trial, but said she feels confident she can win for the second year in a row.
"I feel really strong and feel confident going to the Giro," said Van Vleuten, who recently won the time trial title at the Dutch championships. "I know the power is still there and I am super prepared for the climbing, too, and that combination can work out very well.
"With two summit finishes it is epic, also with an uphill team time trial and individual time trial and a few more stage finishes slightly uphill, they designed a really hard Giro this year. I really love that they put in a famous climb like the Gavia so people back home can understand what we are doing in the Giro and that there are really hard climbs."
Van Vleuten went into last year's Giro Rosa as a co-leader with Amanda Spratt. The entire team was successful, however, as Van Vleuten won the overall title, the points jersey and three stages, while Spratt won one stage and the mountains classification.
This year, Van Vleuten will have sole leadership of the team at the Giro Rosa. Spratt will also be there and will support Van Vleuten but could also find opportunities for herself to win a stage during the 10-day race perhaps. The team will also include Lucy Kennedy, Sarah Roy, Moniek Tenniglo and Grace Brown.
"I'm super excited, I really love the Giro Rosa, it is the biggest stage race and it is a super beautiful team goal to do it together," Van Vleuten said. "It is really a team effort, not just the riders but all the staff and everybody is preparing for it a lot, doing recon, and even between the girls, it feels like everybody wants to be in the team."
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