Shirin van Anrooij celebrated a gold medal with her Netherlands teammates in the mixed team relay at the opening day of the UCI Cyclo-Cross World Championships in Hulst, and she is curious about the result she can produce in the elite women’s race on Saturday.
A blistering penultimate lap by the Baloise Verzekeringen-Het Poetsbureau Lions rider put her country into the lead, before Tibor Del Grosso soloed the final lap for victory.
Behind Italy finished in silver, 16 seconds back, and Belgium rounded off the podium, fighting off defending champions Great Britain after a spirited battle.
Van Anrooij is from Zeeland in the Netherlands, which is the region hosting this year’s championships. The former junior and under-23 cyclo-cross world champion missed last year's campaign and championships while recovering from iliac artery endofibrosis surgery.
She has been building towards her home World Championships and placed fifth in last weekend’s cyclo-cross World Cup concluding round at Hoogerheide.
Van Anrooij will be competing as an elite in Saturday's Cyclo-Cross World Championships for the first time after progressing from the under-23 ranks.
The event got off to a perfect start for her as she proudly posed for pictures with her local fans after winning her latest rainbow jersey and gold medal.
Van Anrooij finished third in the Cyclo-Cross World Cup round at Hulst three years ago, but many changes have been made ahead of Worlds.
Reflecting after racing one lap of the course in her leg of the six-rider mixed team relay, Van Anrooij said, “It’s just a really hard lap, especially the second part, which is also very heavy.
“You really need to spare some for the last lap. Of course, it's different if it's one lap of a full effort, instead of the 50 minutes tomorrow (in the elite women’s).
“I think my conclusion is mainly - it's just a very nice course."
After returning to cyclo-cross racing this winter, Van Anrooij finished runner-up in the gruelling Cyclo-cross World Cup round at Koksijde.
She is set to battle with fellow Dutch Baloise Verzekeringen-Het Poetsbureau Lions trade teammate Lucinda Brand for her second rainbow jersey of the weekend in the elite women’s race at Worlds.
She hopes to replicate the feeling she had during her effort in the mixed team relay again tomorrow.
“My legs actually felt very good today," she said.
“I'm just really looking forward to tomorrow. I'm curious. It is, of course, a very different endeavour, but at least it was a good opener. I hope I'll have these legs again tomorrow.”
