SANTA ROSA, California—In a return to form that saw her become what many argue is the greatest cyclist ever—woman or man—Marianne Vos (Rabo-Liv) took a sprint win in the third stage of the Women’s Tour of California. The victory marked her first World Tour road win of the season.
For Vos, the win is a comeback from a long road of injuries, re-starts, setbacks and frustration. When Cyclocross Magazine‘s Christine Vardaros spoke with Vos back in February the multi-discipline World Champion told us that she wasn’t sure how she’d handle that first win back. “I don’t know. I’ll probably cry. I’m an emotional person but I do not show it that much. But maybe it would come now—that it would be so much emotion that I can’t hold it back. Of course I’m looking forward to the moment I’m racing again but not really focused on what I’ll do when I cross the finish,” said Vos at the time.
Clearly pleased with yesterday’s result, which came after a long chase of a breakaway with the help of Rabo-Liv teammate Shara Gillow, Vos finished ahead of fellow cyclocross racer Coryn Rivera (Health Care United) and Emma Johansson (Wiggle High5).
Could this be the final step in the full comeback of Vos? Time will tell. As she told us earlier this year, her ultimate goal is to defend her Olympic gold medal on the road at the 2016 Rio Olympics.
