Fresh off her victory at the 2018 Giro Rosa, Annemiek van Vleuten won her second straight La Course on Tuesday, narrowly seizing her place atop the podium for the one-day women’s counterpart to the Tour de France.
After 112.5K of racing (including four tough climbs) through the French Alps, the Mitchelton-Scott rider finished just over a bike length ahead of Olympic champion and fellow Dutch rider Anna van der Breggen.
“This win is really beautiful,” van Vleuten said at the finish. “To win this race is really special, and high up on my list of memorable wins.”
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The short but intense Course began in the scenic valley roads around Lake Annecy, with the fist climb coming 16K in. Multiple attacks animated the race during the first 30K, but none proved decisive. The breakaway established itself on the race’s second climb, when Malgorzata Jasinka passed over the summit first and three other riders—Lotta Lepistö, Leah Kirchmann, and Leah Thomas—joined her on the descent.
Behind that group, the Boels-Dolmans team led the chase, hoping to set up van der Breggen for the win. Two riders hung suspended between the breakaway and the main field until they were scooped up on third climb. In sight of the third summit, Cecilie Ludwig attacked and went over the top just ahead of the main field.
About 20 riders remained in the main field with the final climb of the day, the Col de la Colombière, fast approaching. At 7.5K and with an average gradient of 8.5 percent, the ascent promised to be decisive. As the reduced field hit the early slopes of the Colombière, the attacks began.
Three riders soon went up the road, and it was clear that the winner would come from this group. Van Vleuten was joined by van der Breggen and Ashleigh Moolman-Pasio, who placed second at this year’s Giro Rosa, and the trio remained locked together until the final kilometer of the Colombière.
That’s when van der Breggen attacked in a bid for the win. Over the top of the Colombière, she held a gap of a few seconds ahead of van Vleuten and Moolman-Pasio. But van Vleuten wasn’t done yet.
On the short descent to the finish, van Vlueten put in an intense effort to take the lead. At 300 meters to go, she still trailed the flying van der Breggen. But just before the line, she came around and narrowly edged van der Breggen for the win. Moolman-Pasio took third, while Megan Guarnier was the top American finisher with a strong fifth place.
“The gap going into the descent was really small and Anna is a really good descender,” van Vleuten said. “I always keep believing and keep on thinking that anything is possible and never give up. To win like this—it was a tough ride, but beautiful.”
