Visma | Lease a Bike deliver in a period when thoughts are mainly with Marianne Vos

Vos’ father, Henk, has been seriously ill for some time, and as a result Marianne has already had to cross off several races from her calendar over the past six months. Family quite rightly came before racing, which is why Vos did not line up at Milan-Sanremo, and why she was also absent from Dwars door Vlaanderen on Wednesday. IDLProCycling.com spoke about the situation with sports director Jan Boven.

“A leader, and much more than that,” Boven said. “Marianne is women’s cycling, and she is much more than just a leader for a young group as well. When Marianne is here, you have leadership, calm and an extension of us as coaches. She is irreplaceable, but in this situation it is only natural that she is not with us.”

“That depends on the situation, but the most important thing is what she wants herself. We can say she should do something, but if Marianne wants something else, who are we to tell her otherwise? We will always try to protect her and give her a clear picture: if you do this, this may happen, and so on.”

“This has been going on since September 2025, with ups and downs. It looked like things were really moving in the right direction, but then there was a setback. That hit harder than what had come before. And let’s not forget that Henk is also an icon in cycling. It is something the sport feels too, not having Papa Henk around the races anymore.”

“She wants to race, but the situation has to allow her to race. The hope is that she can get on the bike and go for it. But before Milan-Sanremo, for example, there was a real scare, and it was different again from what happened before Dwars door Vlaanderen. After a short recon, we got a phone call saying Marianne really had to return home.”

“Then we immediately switch into organisation mode, book a flight and make sure she can get back as quickly as possible. Right now it is a matter of taking it day by day, so we cannot really make any firm decisions.”

“Not in the last few days, no. In the beginning that still went okay, but not now. In that respect too, we have to make choices about what is and is not possible. Last year I thought the Gravel World Championships would not be possible either, and then she finished an impressive second. That is Marianne as a rider: she is so exceptional that when she feels it is possible, she can do extraordinary things. But if it is not possible, then she simply does not race.”

“In the end you are already missing a lot now, and in a very important period too. So you constantly have to reassess where you stand and what the next realistic goal is.”

“We cannot solve this for her, this is really something they are going through together. From time to time you send a message, and because I have known Marianne a little longer and a bit more closely, there is occasionally a phone call as well. But even then, in the end, they remain only words.”

Bram van der Ploeg ( X: @BvdPloegg | email : [email protected])