Marianne Vos leaves Giro Donne early to prepare for Tokyo
Marianne Vos leaves Giro Donne early to prepare for Tokyo
With two stages remaining Marianne Vos closed the book on her 2021 Giro Donne campaign. The Dutchwoman left the race ahead of a mountainous stage 9 to turn her focus to the upcoming Olympic Games in Tokyo.
Vos won stages 3 and 7, her 29th and 30th stage victories at the iconic Italian race.
“Marianne Vos and Julie Van de Velde both abandoned the Giro d’Italia Donne to focus on the Tokyo Olympic Games,” Jumbo-Visma told Cyclingnews. “They both enjoyed a beautiful Giro d’Italia Donne with the double stage win of Marianne and two podium places. Therefore they left the race with a heavy heart. But at the same time, both riders want to prepare themselves as optimally as possible for the Olympics.”
Tokyo will be Vos’ fourth Olympic Games. Her first participation was in Beijing in 2008 where she won the points race on the track. She won the road race in London in 2012 and finished ninth in the Rio de Janeiro road race won by her teammate Anna van der Breggen.
Vos was named to the four woman Olympic team for Tokyo in May alongside Van der Breggen, Demi Vollering, and Annemiek van Vleuten. Both Van der Breggen and Vollering remained behind at the Giro Donne for their trade team SD Worx. Van der Breggen leads the race with Vollering third overall and their teammate Ashleigh Moolman Pasio firmly wedged between the two.
Prior to her departure Vos was leading the points competition by 13 points. Vos passed the ciclamino points jersey to the up-and-coming phenom Emma Norsgaard.
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