Having taken the yellow jersey on the stage 4 time trial in Herning, Annemiek van Vleuten (Movistar) had to fight hard on stage 5 from Middelfart to Haderslev before she could celebrate winning the overall at the Tour of Scandinavia, only two seconds ahead of Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig (FDJ-SUEZ).
After the Tour of Scandinavia, Van Vleuten has only the Simac Ladies Tour remaining on her calendar, September 5-10, to close out her 16-year professional cycling career.
The 40-year-old star said that it wasn’t only the GC victory that made her happy but rather the ability to be competitive at the highest level until the end.
“It's nice for me that I am still fighting for the win in my last races. That’s why I enjoy cycling, not only for winning, but because I am still in good shape, I am there in the mix in the front and have good legs. Then I can say goodbye to the sport with a smile on my face," Van Vleuten told the media after being presented with the yellow jersey and a large trophy with a spinning wheel and a piece of Norwegian granite for the overall winner.
"This tour was very nice for me, less stressful than the Tour de France, so I could really enjoy it. I go home with a smile, for sure.”
On the finishing laps in Haderslev, Uttrup Ludwig had fulfilled her promise of going on the attack, making her move early on the 1200-metre finishing climb and winning the stage by five seconds. Lorena Wiebes (Team SD Worx) led a large group across the line in second, with Van Vleuten getting the same time as Wiebes and thus keeping the GC lead.
“I have to say she had a really strong attack. Before the stage, I thought it would be hard for her to gain seven seconds plus the 10 bonus seconds, but she came super close," Van Vleuten commended her Danish rival for her aggressive attack.
"At the finish line, I was not sure if she made it or not. I was like, ‘yeah, it was what I had in my legs, and I didn’t make a mistake’. I was well-positioned on the final climb, then it's just who has the strongest legs and she is more punchy than me. For the spectators, it was super exciting that it was such a finish.
“When the sprinters started to sprint, it helped to close the gap. A group of sprinters will be faster than one rider on her own. But I was waiting and waiting for the sprinters, they waited for a quite long time,” added Van Vleuten about a moment of anxiety in the final when Uttrup Ludwig had opened a sizable advantage.
The final stage did not throw up any surprises, though the final overall winner admitted that she might have underestimated the climb to the finish in Haderslev.
“I had been hoping for a bit more wind so we could also have some echelon actions because this area is nice for that with some open sections, but the wind was not strong enough. I expected the gap not to be this big on the final climb because it was one straight road, but she [Uttrup Ludwig] had a super strong attack. So maybe that final climb was harder than I expected.
"And the rain is not my favourite weather, but I am used to it, it is what it is. And it does make cycling beautiful, the final laps were quite epic,” Van Vleuten said.
Now the is only one UCI race left in the 40-year-old’s career.
“People thank me, also girls in the peloton say, ‘oh, it's my last race with you, thank you for everything’. So, also in that way, I had a really nice Tour of Scandinavia. It’s a bit like saying goodbye to this one, and the next one will be Simac,” added Van Vleuten.
