Marianne Vos can laugh about the "generation gap" on the podium of the Dutch National Championships: "The other two also enjoyed it."

Marianne Vos, a multiple title winner, came close to victory once again at the 2023 Dutch National Championships. The Jumbo-Visma team leader had to settle for third place behind Demi Vollering and Lorena Wiebes at Watersley, where she expressed her satisfaction in a conversation with IDLProCyling.com

All in all, It was an amusing sight on the podium of the national title race: Vos wholeheartedly singing along to the national anthem, occasionally glancing to her right where Dutch champion Vollering and her Dutch teammate Wiebes firmly kept their mouth shut. Is it a generation gap, a theme that occasionally arises in football as well? "I don't know, everyone does it differently," Vos chuckled. "I always find it something very special at a championship, though. But those other two definitely enjoyed it too, you know."

Now, onto the race. Royal Purveyor to the court of cycling, Jumbo-Visma, seemed to have control of the race for a long time but ultimately encountered the unstoppable Vollering. "We were in a good position with Eva van Agt in the lead. That allowed us to control the race from behind and respond to counterattacks. That worked well until Demi made her move. She immediately created such a significant gap that it couldn't be controlled anymore," explained Vos with her characteristic meticulous analysis.

"I don't necessarily think we were the favorite, but it's always challenging to take control of a championship race," said the team leader regarding her team's performance. "It's a matter of trying to do the right things. We succeeded last year, but this time it proved to be more difficult," referring to Riejanne Markus' victory in 2022.

While at SD Worx it sounded that they were not worried about the significant lead of Eva van Agt and Esmée Peperkamp (Team DSM), Vos still believed they had a chance. "The moment they have more than four minutes, you start to believe that they have a chance. I think SD Worx, with Marit Raaijmakers, took control of the race very well. It's also incredibly tough in this heat."

Indeed, the heat in South Limburg was a topic of discussion, but SD Worx was well prepared. "It's definitely hot, and you can feel that it takes a lot of energy, but you try to do as much as possible. We had many water bottle stations and it's literally a matter of keeping your head cool," the rider from Brabant, described her strategy.