Annemiek van Vleuten is 'not unbeatable' – Blythe encourages riders to take advantage of every moment

Annemiek van Vleuten (Movistar) is «not unbeatable», and her competitors should take advantage of the Dutch rider's misfortune, says Eurosport expert Adam Blythe ahead of the classics season. The 40-year-old announced in the summer last year that she would end her star-studded career at the end of 2023, and she will be looking to go out on a high. Ad She dominated the stage races last year, completing a Giro–Tour–Vuelta triple as well as becoming the first women rider to win the Triple Crown of cycling, following her world championship triumph.

CyclingTour, Giro and rainbow jersey on Van Vleuten’s 2023 hit list before retirement10/02/2023 AT 09:29 Van Vleuten will be the rider to beat again this season, but Blythe believes there are ways of stopping her dominance. «She’s not unbeatable,» Blythe told Eurosport. «Tactics come into it massively.

Your team comes into it massively, having that support, that’s probably the main thing, and taking advantage of her misfortune. »I don’t mean attacking after she’s crashed, but realising where she is on the road and if she’s a little bit behind, if she’s caught back in the peloton, if it’s a dangerous moment, you’ve got to take advantage of every single second when you can on her. «Because when she gets into the mountains, it’s just power, and unless you've got that power, there's sadly nothing you can do about it.” Regardless as to who comes out on top, Blythe is looking forward to the „unpredictability“ that women's racing has to offer this year.

»I think it’s slowly turning more like the men’s side, where it's becoming a little bit more structured, but it always goes back to that hell for leather sort of racing. It doesn't matter which day it is. It will always happen.