ANNEMIEK VAN VLEUTEN ORICA SCOTT

Orica-Scott’s Annemiek van Vleuten took the lead in the Women’s WorldTour competition following a spring in which she had been in the top 10 in seven of the irst eight races of the series. She gave her opinion of the inaugural so-called Ardennes week: “It was awesome. I think this is a really big step up for women’s cycling. It’s important for us to have the same calendar with WorldTour races as the guys, especially in the spring. I think Amstel Gold was the best example for how it should be, with the same start time as the men and then the inal 45 minutes on TV. The crowds were amazing at the start. I still have goosebumps thinking about that.”