Annemiek van Vleuten (Movistar) is keenly aware that she and compatriot Demi Vollering (SD Worx) have been positioned against one another as the two overwhelming favourites at this year's Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift.
Speaking with the media at the Maison des Sports - Place des Bughes on Saturday in Clermont-Ferrand, Van Vleuten, who lines up as the defending champion, stressed that she hoped the race for the yellow jersey will play out between more than just two riders on the roads to Pau.
"I hope that we have more riders going for the GC with a bigger battle than Demi Vollering and me, we need more nationalities fighting each other in the finals to keep the races more interesting," Van Vleuten said.
"I hope it will be a mistake, so far, if you see through the spring and on the uphill, maybe it's realistic to say that it will be a duel and people love to see it. But sometimes, we underestimate, a bit, the other competitors. I hope there will be more competitors that make our lives really hard and that we see a battle on the Tourmalet."
Van Vleuten named several riders who she felt could also be contenders for the overall classification, including Elisa Longo Borghini (Lidl-Trek), Marta Cavalli (FDJ-SUEZ) and time trial specialist Marlen Reusser (SD Worx).
"If you are not on team Demi Vollering and not on team Annemiek, then for sure, you are going to make a plan for the first six stages to disturb that battle between Demi and me, so I expect some fireworks, and that is also what makes the racing nice."
Van Vleuten won the overall title last year by a 3:48 over Vollering last year but revealed that she felt Vollering was the stronger of the two, given her success at the Ardennes Classics and in the high mountains at La Vuelta Femenina, where she won stage 7 atop Lagos de Covadonga.
She said that she isn't as confident going into the Tour de France Femmes as she was last year.
"No, for sure not, especially because Demi Vollering showed this year that she is the number one favourite, I think. She is at a super strong level, and I was not able to beat her [on the climbs at La Vuelta]. In the end, I did win La Vuelta, but it was also a special situation, and on the uphills, she showed that she was stronger," Van Vleuten said.
"I think she is the favourite. I know that I had the same preparations as last year and that I'm at least better than I was at La Vuelta. I recharged my batteries, and I'm ready for the battle. I'm curious, but I know that I did everything I could to be in my best possible shape."
Van Vleuten understands why the sport is so captivated by race rivalries citing Mathieu van der Poel and Wout van Aert in cyclocross and the Spring Classics. Other recent and memorable rivalries have happened between Lucinda Brand and Marianne Vos locked in a battle for the rainbow jersey at Cyclocross Worlds in 2022. And look no further than the battle between Jonas Vingegaard and Tadej Pogačar at this year's men's Tour de France, until the Vingegaard all but sealed the yellow jersey in the stage 16 time trial from Passy to Combloux.
"I think people love to see a duel, whether it's Mathieu van der Poel and Wout van Aert, it's what the media love to see. I love seeing a bigger battle with more people. I think it's more interesting," Van Vleuten countered.
"But if I can entertain a lot of people by having a duel between the two of us, so be it, the most important thing is that I am in the fight for the yellow jersey. Whoever is joining me in that fight, I will see."
Defending yellow
Van Vleuten lived up to every expectation as the favourite for the 2022 Tour de France Femmes, winning the overall title after two remarkable back-to-back stages in the Vosges atop Le Markstein and La Super Planche des Belles Filles.
The first six stages of this year's route are hilly before reaching the summit finish at Col du Tourmalet on stage 7 and an individual time trial on stage 8. These two stages will, once again, be well-suited to the defending champion in her goal to win a second consecutive overall title.
"The goal before we came here was to get the best out of myself so be optimally prepared, and I achieved that goal. I'm here in the same shape as last year, same preparations, same energy and with recharged batteries to go full-gas here for the battle for the yellow jersey," said Van Vleuten, who arrives after securing overall victories at La Vuelta Femenina and Giro d'Italia Donne.
Van Vleuten said she's not concerned too much with how much a second overall victory might mean to her. Instead, she is looking forward to enjoying the opportunity to compete in what will be her final Tour de France before retiring at the end of the season.
"It is important to pin on the number one in my rainbow jersey and enjoy racing and be part of the battle to win the maillot jaune. I'm going to go for it, to be part of the fight, and we want to put on a good show for people who are watching it at home or at the side of the road to get excited."
Van Vleuten said that winning the Tour de France Femmes has been a highlight of her career that has seen her win Spring Classics, Grand Tours, World Championships and a gold medal at the Olympic Games.
"I love this race. I can say that it was the biggest thing that I won in my career last year. I would have been here with a different mindset if I had not won it last year because I would know it is the last, last, last opportunity for me to win the Tour de France. There is less pressure on my shoulders now, which means that I can enjoy it a bit more and race with my heart," Van Vleuten said.
Asked how she feels heading into her final Tour de France Femmes, Van Vleuten said, "I feel relaxed, focused and eager to race with a feeling of nothing to lose and everything to win."
