The summer of stage racing concluded on Sunday with the Ceratizit Challenge by La Vuelta, which this year expanded to five stages and its toughest edition yet. Starting with a team time trial, the race took in climbing stages, punchy stages, a long 160km day out and a Madrid circuit sprint for a varied five days of racing. After a huge effort on the Queen stage, Annemiek van Vleuten (Movistar) took overall victory, the latest addition to her long list of achievements.
Whether it was an important target or not, Van Vleuten’s victory sees her complete the so-called Giro-Tour-Vuelta triple in the first year it was possible. Packing the three races into just three months has made for an intense summer, and to win them all is an undeniably impressive achievement. With Van Vleuten hailed as a once-in-a-generation talent, it may be the first and only time we see a rider take home pink, yellow and red in one season.
Though Van Vleuten won the race and became the story, it was only really stage 2 where she dominated, with the other four stages all producing different winners, interesting stories and plenty to learn from. Going into the World Championships and the final races of the season, here’s what Cyclingnews concluded from five days in northern Spain.
It wasn’t too easy for Van Vleuten
One of the headlines before the Ceratizit Challenge was Annemiek van Vleuten questioning whether she would be able to target and win the race, because the route was “not that hard”. After winning the race by an almost two-minute margin, it seems she has answered her own question.
Van Vleuten’s thoughts were valid – the lack of big climbs would make it harder for her to outclass her competitors on climbing ability alone – but it seems that whilst she thought the climbs lacked difficulty, that wasn’t the way the race unfolded.
The Dutch rider and her Movistar team helped to make the race difficult regardless, setting up Van Vleuten to put her stamp on the race and distance all her rivals.
She also showed her strengths on the flatter days, staying in control but out of trouble on aggressive days that have not always suited her abilities. T
he Ceratizit Challenge may not have been the most challenging parcours of Van Vleuten’s achievements in 2022, but it was a tough win that she had to work for in order to still take victory on a route she admitted wasn’t the best for her.
Medium climbs can be the…
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