Van Vleuten: Dwars door Vlaanderen a 'wake-up' ahead of Tour of Flanders

Annemiek van Vleuten (Movistar) racing Dwars door Vlaanderen
Annemiek van Vleuten (Movistar) racing Dwars door Vlaanderen (Image credit: Getty Images)

Annemiek van Vleuten (Movistar) was one of the most aggressive riders at the mid-week Dwars door Vlaanderen but strong headwinds prevented her from clearing the peloton along the decisive ascents on the road to Waregem.

In the end, she finished among the main field after working for her team’s sprinter Arlenis Sierra, but she noted that the race gave her a chance to ‘wake-up the legs’ ahead of her defence of the Tour of Flanders on Sunday.

"I’m good. I just came down from altitude. I’m happy to be back in Flanders. I look forward to Sunday. The legs are good. It will be quite a completely different race from today. Today was good training and a wake-up for the legs at sea level, and so maybe I go again [at Tour of Flanders]."

Kirsten Frattini
Deputy Editor

Kirsten Frattini is the Deputy Editor of Cyclingnews, overseeing the global racing content plan.

Kirsten has a background in Kinesiology and Health Science. She has been involved in cycling from the community and grassroots level to professional cycling's biggest races, reporting on the WorldTour, Spring Classics, Tours de France, World Championships and Olympic Games.

She began her sports journalism career with Cyclingnews as a North American Correspondent in 2006. In 2018, Kirsten became Women's Editor – overseeing the content strategy, race coverage and growth of women's professional cycling – before becoming Deputy Editor in 2023.

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