The elated reaction that Marianne Vos produces whenever she comes over the line at the front of a race is testament to the fact that winning never gets old, with the Visma-Lease a Bike rider celebrating her 250th road victory at Dwars door Vlaanderen with the same excitement and joy as if it was her first-ever triumph.
In some ways it still was a first, as while Vos has a palmares that includes 3 Road Worlds titles, Olympic gold and 32 women's Giro d'Italia stages, the 36-year-old had never previously conquered Dwars door Vlaanderen. Her best result to date was a podium finish last March in her first-ever participation.
"It is always nice to win a race for the first time," Vos, who also won Omloop het Nieuwsblad on her debut at the race last month, said in a team statement. "At the beginning of spring, I didn't dare dream that I would start my season like this. The fact that I already have two victories now is definitely very special."
Vos, who ended her 2023 season early to undergo iliac artery surgery, secured her 250th road victory celebration in a race where "all kind of things happened". There was the chaos of a crash involving two team cars from the men's race which led to a pause and shortening of the race before the action resumed. Vos ultimately escaped in a two-rider break with Shirin van Anrooij (Lidl-Trek) which ended with a sprint between the duo.
"Shirin is an incredibly strong rider and when she accelerates, you shouldn't hesitate too long," said Vos. "In the sprint I tried to catch her and then it's sprinting with everything you have left. Luckily it worked out well."
Van Anrooij was quick to congratulate her revered rival after the line. There is certainly no shame in being beaten by Vos, a rider that has been unrelentingly formidable ever since she stepped into the elite peloton as a 19-year-old and straight into the rainbow jersey of Road World Champion.
"It's a number you don't dare think about at the beginning of your career," said Vos of her 250th victory. "Over the years you can make a lot of memories of different highs and lows and then this is definitely a very nice highlight."
The rider who has so many career highlights is unlikely to be distracted from the task of creating some more, with the Tour of Flanders looming on Sunday. Then there's Paris-Roubaix where, judging by the current show of form, she is in with a good chance of adding another sought-after title to her palmares.
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