Vos ends successful road season, will race full cyclo-cross calendar
WaowDeals rider will start 'cross season in Waterloo
Marianne Vos (WaowDeals) called an end to her 2018 road season with a second place at the GP de Plouay and extending her lead in the UCI Women's WorldTour with three events remaining.
Choosing to skip the Boels Ladies Tour, Madrid Challenge by La Vuelta and Tour of Guangxi, Vos will instead shift to the cyclo-cross scene for her first full off-road season in three years.
Vos will start with the Trek CXC UCI World Cup in Waterloo, Wisconsin, and take on the Jingle Cross World Cup in Iowa before heading back to Europe for a series of events: the Hotondcross, Superprestige Gieten, Bern World Cup, the Nacht van Woerden, Ruddervoorde Superprestige and the European championships.
"I decided race cyclo-cross in September a while ago," Vos said in a team press release. "I think it's good to do it differently from other years for once. The people who know me also know that I love 'cross. I have never ridden a whole winter in 'cross as an elite. The last time I did was as a junior.
"A first important goal is the European Championship in Rosmalen, in early November. For that, it is necessary that I ramp up enough race rhythm by racing 'cross every week."
Vos will take a break after the European Championships to gear up for the remainder of the season.
A three-time world champion on the road and seven-time winner in cyclo-cross, Vos suffered injury and overtraining after taking the bronze medal at the UCI Cyclo-cross World Championships in 2015, and did not race during the road season that year.
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She came back in 2016 and has risen up the ranks again, taking the European Championship in 2017. This year Vos has had one of her most successful road season since before her break, winning the BeNe Ladies Tour and Ladies Tour of Norway, and leading the UCI Women's WorldTour.