Marianne Vos has had a successful return to racing with her team Jumbo-Visma, after recovering from surgery to treat pelvic artery constriction, finishing on the podium at Dwars door Vlaanderen on Wednesday.
However, in what was just her second road race of the season the multi-discipline rider was quick to note the potential obstacle posed by SD Worx squad ahead of her next target races, the Tour of Flanders on April 2 and Paris-Roubaix Femmes on April 8.
"They are incredibly strong, and there are different teams with different strengths, but SD Worx has the depth and a very strong team," Vos said in a post-race interview in Waregem.
Demi Vollering's solo victory at Dwars door Vlaanderen added to SD Worx's dominance during the one-day spring races. It marked the team's eighth season victory, including Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, Omloop van het Hageland, Strade Bianche, Ronde van Drenthe, Nokere Koerse and Gent-Wevelgem, and what's more those victories came from four different riders. Those results leave little question that in the lead-in to the Tour of Flanders they will be seen as key favourites that all the other teams will be trying to work out just how to beat.
The Jumbo-Visma women's squad, on the other hand is looking for its first victory of the season, having missed the presence of the rider that generally provides the vast majority of its wins. Vos – who has a win tally that is rapidly approaching the 250 mark on the road alone – ended her cyclocross campaign just prior to the World Championships this winter due to physical issues and then took some time away from racing in February to undergo additional treatment.
The Dutch rider's first road race of the season was at Trofeo Alfredo Binda, and although she was part of the final in the closing 10km, leg cramps ruled her out of contention, and she finished in 20th place.
A marked improvement at Dwars door Vlaanderen saw Vos play her cards in the final, riding into a decisive move with Gent-Wevelgem winner Marlen Reusser (SD Worx). That move didn't work out, but she was active in the closing kilometres and finished second in the chase-group sprint behind Chiara Consonni (UAE Team ADQ). Vollering, who had attacked over the top of the final climb Nokere, crossed the line with the victory 38 seconds ahead of the chase group sprint.
"The final opened up early, which was nice, and it made it a hard race. Going into the final with Reusser was nice, but also difficult because we felt the gap was closing in, then opened up again," Vos said.
"Demi's attack was strong, but I just couldn't make it to her wheel. I knew it was going to be difficult to catch Demi from the group behind. It was a bit of gambling for the final, but in the sprint, I was happy to make it to the last podium spot.
"It's my second race, and I'm happy with the feeling. It's good to get a race like this in the legs, and it's nice to be able to be part of the game, to play the racing game. It's nice to be in this race and be a part of the final," Vos said.
Vos will next line up at Tour of Flanders, and while she wasn't preoccupied with thoughts of Sunday's race during Dwars door Vlaanderen, she said finishing such a tough race on the podium bodes well for what's to come this weekend.
"It's good to take this race with me. It's a hard race. It's also good as a lead-up to Sunday. The focus today was on Dwars door Vlaanderen, and now we will switch focus and get ready for Sunday. It's nice to take this with us into Sunday."
