Van Vleuten critical of support for SD Worx in pursuit: "Time to start playing poker"

Annemiek van Vleuten lost crucial seconds (eight, including bonus seconds) to her main rival for the overall victory, Demi Vollering, in the fourth stage of the Tour de Femmes. "It was pretty punchy, so not entirely my thing," she says afterwards to NOS.

"It was a good test," says the world champion about the final steep section to the finish. "Which ultimately ended up costing me a few seconds at the finish line, also because I started a little bit too early. Actually, it was a good day and I hope we entertained the TV viewers a little bit in the final."

During the last climb of the third category, Van Vleuten applied significant pressure on her rivals. "The finale was thrilling and action-packed, and I'm proud of my team's performance. We set out with a plan to pressure the pack, and it played out effectively. We'll be celebrating with a high-five at dinner tonight because the strategy was successfully implemented. Demi only managed to gain a few seconds at the finish line."

Van Vleuten critical of other teams

"While it might not have yielded the results we aspired for, we navigated the stage without incident," continued Van Vleuten. "The course was fairly punchy, which isn't quite my style. There are valid questions to be raised about how other teams approached today's race," she critiqued. "Looking at this year, you would expect everyone to finally pay attention to SD Worx, but then there are always a few teams that end up helping them."

"While it's commendable that each team has its own strategies, it's also high time to employ some poker tactics. It can be quite tiresome," says Van Vleuten, who maintained her composure when the yellow jersey holder, Lotte Kopecky, launched an attack in the final. "Kopecky posed no threat, so we let her ride ahead. She may put up a strong performance on the Tourmalet, but generally, she's not a significant threat to the general classification."