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Annemiek van Vleuten expressed mixed feelings about securing the silver medal in the women’s road race at the Tokyo Olympics. The Dutch rider was unaware that gold medalist Anna Kiesenhofer (Austria) was leading the pack when she attacked in the final, and crossed the line thinking she had won the Olympic title only to later learn that she had actually won the money. medal.
Van Vleuten said the problem was due to a lack of communication on the road, in part because teams and runners were not allowed to use racing radios during the 137km race from Musashinonomori Park to Fuji International. Speedway.
“That sums up pretty well if after the finish we ask ourselves who won and what the time gaps were,” Van Vleuten said at a post-race press conference.
“We didn’t know. We heard 45 seconds 10 km from the finish. It showed that there was a lot of confusion and not only with me. It was in the Dutch team but also in the other [nations]. In the most important race, you are not allowed to ride with communication, which we usually do. It should make the race more interesting but it made the race more confusing. “
The women’s peloton is authorized to use racing radios to communicate between their teammates on the road and personnel in support vehicles, during the Women’s WorldTour races throughout the season.
However, the use of racing radios is not permitted at the Olympic Games and therefore riders must rely on verbal communication with each other during the road race. They can return to their support vehicles to get race details from a manager, or they can monitor a motorcycle official’s information written on a whiteboard for the breakaway and the peloton to see. .
Kiesenhofer was part of a breakaway at the start of the race with Carla Oberholzer (South Africa), Vera Looser (Namibia), Omer Shapira (Israel) and Anna Plichta (Poland). The big nations relied on the powerful Dutch side of Van Vleuten, Anna van der Breggen, Demi Vollering and Marianne Vos to control the gap, but they didn’t, and it blossomed at 10 minutes.
Van Vleuten, who crashed about 60 km from the finish, returned to the main peloton with the help of his team, then embarked on a solo pursuit about 50 km from the finish. She failed to close the gap with the breakaway and was recovered 25 km from the finish. Van Vleuten had said she asked a TV motorcycle for the time differences, suggesting a lack of off-road communication between the peloton and race officials.
“When I was alone in front I had to ask the person on the bike what was going on, what was the advantage, the times, so I think it was far from professional and it is very disappointing to have this situation in the most important race in four years. It’s one side of the story. The other is this beautiful silver medal, “said Van Vleuten.
“At the moment it’s a little difficult to be happy with that, but I achieved my goal. We underestimated Anna Kiesenhofer as a Dutch team and I think we will sit down together tonight and The big problem was the lack of communication in this race. But yes, I’m proud of my first Olympic medal – or hope to be proud after a little more time. “
This was Van Vleuten’s third Olympic Games after competing in London in 2012 and Rio de Janeiro in 2016, where she was involved in a horrific high-speed crash on the final descent while leading the race. which left her recovering from a severe concussion and three small fractures in her lower back.
She said that she was not looking for redemption at these Olympics, but that she was looking for the gold medal.
“We came for the gold, so feelings a little mixed. For me personally, this silver medal has nothing to do with Rio. But it’s my very first Olympic medal, so that makes me really proud. “said Van Vleuten.
“But we came for the gold, so feelings are a bit mixed. There was a lot of confusion and miscommunication today. But a lot has been said about this already.”
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