La Madrid Challenge 2022 - Annemiek van Vleuten calls for 'harder parcours' as she aims to complete treble

ByHarry Latham Coyle

Published 07/09/2022 at 09:14 GMT

Annemiek van Vleuten has already taken overall victory at the Giro d'Italia Donne and Tour de France Femmes this year, but fears that the course at the five-stage challenge in Spain may not be sufficiently hard enough for a rider of her climbing talents. The Dutchwoman is defending the crown she won over four stages 12 months ago, and hopes that the race can continue to expand.

Annemiek van Vleuten fears that the course for the 2022 La Madrid Challenge may not be sufficiently hard enough for her to complete a major stage-race treble.

Van Vleuten has already secured overall crowns at the Giro d'Italia Donne and Tour de France Femmes this year, and is defending her crown at the five-stage Spanish event.

The 2022 edition of the Ceratizit Challenge will coincide with the final five stages of the Vuelta a Espana before a planned calendar move to May next year, but does not contain a true summit finish or a day of significant mountain tests.

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Ahead of an opening team time-trial in Marina de Cudeyo, Van Vleuten has suggested that the Spanish race cannot yet be considered a grand tour, urging organisers to make the course harder in the future.

“In general, I think this will be the one from the Giro, the Tour and the Vuelta that is the hardest to target, because the route is not that hard," Van Vleuten said.

"Everyone knows I’m a fan of harder racing, and my chances would be rising with a harder parcours, with longer stages, climbs and mileage.

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“When it comes to the race itself, though, I cannot say that the 'triple' is a goal in itself. That owes to the fact that, even if the Ceratizit Challenge carries the name of La Vuelta on it, it still hasn’t got the hard stages nor the length, the kilometers, you’d like to find in what you would consider a grand tour – it’s also just five days at the moment, with one of them being Madrid’s circuit race."

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The inaugural La Madrid Challenge was held in 2015 as a one-day event, before being added to the Women's World Tour in 2016.

It expanded to two stages in 2018 and added a third day in 2020, before Van Vleuten took a dominant victory across four race days in early September last year.

Next year's race has been registered under the name "La Vuelta Femenina" and is set to include a full week of racing, and Van Vleuten hopes that the success of the inaugural edition of the reworked Tour de France Femmes this summer has shown the way forward.

“I sincerely hope the impact the TDFF, such a breakthrough moment for women’s cycling, has created – which I have already felt – can help it grow, because its effects can hopefully make organisers realise we’re ready for it.

"All of that said, it’s a nice race I’m so keen to get into.”

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Stream La Madrid Challenge live and on-demand on discovery+. You can also watch all the action live on eurosport.co.uk.

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