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It was not supposed to be a déjà vu season for Jumbo-Visma in 2022, although 12 wins and a top-10 finish in the Women’s WorldTour UCI rankings reverberated as a success. Led by Marianne Vos, Jumbo-Visma amplified its power at the start of the year with the addition of can’t-miss US rider Coryn Labecki.
However, the one-two punch with Vos and Labecki never got a chance to develop as Labecki, a former Tour of Flanders and Women’s Tour winner, only raced 18 days in her new team colours after five years at Team DSM. Jumbo-Visma won’t skip a beat for 2023, however, as they have an opportunity to reprise the double impact, plus throw in a wildcard on the road with U23 cyclocross powerhouse Fem van Empel.
Jumbo-Visma replicated a dozen road wins for a second consecutive year, courtesy of Vos and a stable of returning riders that included Anna Henderson and Riejanne Markus, as well as newcomer Noemi Rüegg’s U23 ITT Swiss title. The results landed the team in 10th overall in the UCI World rankings and seventh in the Women’s WorldTour rankings, with 13 of 14 riders scoring WorldTour points.
Vos again carried the weight of the team with road victories, eight in stage races last season – two at the Giro d’Italia Donne, two at Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift, and four at Tour of Scandinavia. Her speed and explosiveness thrust her into the Tour’s yellow jersey for five days, and she secured the points jersey. She called it a “dream come true” when she won stage six in Rosheim wearing the yellow jersey.
The Dutchwoman checked off a few remaining to-do items on her palmares at the rebirth of the Tour de France Femmes. Across her 16-year career, Vos has amassed over 200 wins, including eight cyclocross world titles plus the new national title at the Dutch gravel championships.
A healthy Labecki could not only help Vos add more victories, but the Californian can easily add to the team’s win count on her own. She’s used to winning, having amassed 72 national titles in multiple disciplines since she began racing as a junior.
In the spring Classics last year, Labecki took sixth at Trofeo Alfredo Binda and ninth at Amstel Gold Race. But over the months of spring she battled COVID-19 twice and a stomach bug right after The Women’s Tour, which left her in fifth place at the US Pro Road National Championships, her lowest result since one victory and five silver medals in the last six editions.
Following that…
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