Cycling: Van Vleuten: “When I started I only earned 100 euros a month, now cycling is a reality”

LThe Dutchwoman hung up her bike this year after 17 seasons in the professional ranks. Now she wants to help other athletes while thinking carefully about the formula to do so. In Movistar The door is still open.

What are you going to do now that you don’t have to start the season together with the Movistar Team?

First of all, I’m going to go skiing for a few days with my boyfriend. I want to learn to ski well in Formigal. And then I’m going on vacation with my mother. For now I want to take advantage of the free time I never had. She is 75 years old, so it is good that we can enjoy and make plans together. That’s the most immediate thing, I don’t have any big plans for 2024.

Do you feel like a retiree?

I don’t know. Maybe so, but I’m happy. I am a happy retiree (laughs). I’m better than I expected, honestly. I thought it was going to cost me more to take this step. It’s nice to have a little more freedom for other types of activities. Now I can spend time with my friends, with family… I’m happy.

What projects do you have?

One of them is related to a book. I am writing it and then we will do several presentations. I’m getting a little oriented about the mental side of sport. There will also be some support from the Olympic Federation giving mental support to the athletes.

What is your assessment of your time at Movistar?

For me it has been three very nice years with this group. I think the team is now at a higher level, it has grown. It was a very fun challenge to come here. For both me and my family we lived here for three perfect years, even though it was a great challenge on all levels to come here.

Don’t you see yourself doing ‘a Valverde’ and staying as an assistant at Movistar?

We had contacts in the team to do it, but I think right now I have a different ambition. I would like to have an impact with athletes in the mental aspect. I want to be able to help with my experiences. Right now I don’t know exactly where my future is going to go, but there will always be conversations with Movistar.

What do you think of the level of the team now that you are leaving?

It is true that there is going to be a big change, but it is also something positive. We had been traveling for a few good years, with everything focused on my careers. I think that now it could also be good for them to have a change of scenery and for some runners to assume more responsibility. By moving away, I give them more responsibility, but at the same time new opportunities. And perhaps more pressure to perform. Sometimes it’s good to feel the pressure to get results. At other times it is better to have less, but I think that the runners in the team are ready to be able to assume those responsibilities.

Sheyla Gutirrez, her friend, remains as ‘captain’. Does she see him well in that role?

Yes, we have a very good relationship. I think it is important that the team maintains a good atmosphere. Now new runners are joining the team and that can give another breath. There is always a danger that, with new people, the atmosphere will be lost, but I am optimistic and I believe that this good group will be maintained. In addition, Sebastin Unzu is a really good director who will surely ensure stability in the group.

Has dominated in recent years in cycling, will Vollering be the ‘new Van Vleuten’?

I don’t know, I don’t think so. I don’t like comparisons. I think that each cyclist has their own characteristics. We are all different. I think we each have our own way of winning, we are different. I don’t like these types of nicknames and nicknames.

His team, SD Workx, dominates even more than Jumbo in the men’s category.

Yes, perhaps it would be good if there were more teams at the same level so that the fights were more balanced. The more equality, the better. I think it is not positive that all the great runners are on the same team.

What is clear is that cycling does not stop growing.

The level is high and rising, that is clear. There are more and more competitors and more and more runners appear at the top. There will be more fighting at the top and that will make everything more interesting. In the Netherlands, for example, there are really good female runners. Other countries are also going to take that step and Spain is going to be there, although there is work to do.

Do you see Spain dominating in the future?

I had a talk with the Spanish Cycling Federation and I think it is necessary to support women’s cycling more. Something is wrong now. I think there should be more competitions and there should be more strong female runners. In Spain you have a great cycling infrastructure and a good life to be a cyclist. There needs to be more money, which is coming in. For example, if you are from Colombia it may be interesting to come to Europe to be a professional and earn money with this. Maybe there is an opportunity to develop cycling a little more in countries that are not so developed in cycling at the moment.

Things have changed a lot in this sense.

When I started I only earned 100 euros a month, so it wasn’t very interesting. But now it is a reality. It has become a professional sport and there is more and more help for coaches and for everyone in different countries. Women’s cycling is growing rapidly.