SD Worx's dominance is dangerous for the world of women's cycling

SGGPO 12/01/2023 10:38

That's what two-time world champion Annemiek van Vleuten shared when referring to the dominance of the world women's cycling scene by the Dutch racing team SD Worx.

SD Worx Team Dominates Women's Cycling World

“I think the absolute dominance of SD Worx is very dangerous for the women's cycling world,” said Annemiek van Vleuten.

There is no doubt that SD Worx are the dominant force in women’s cycling. The SD Worx team were by far the most successful in 2023 and with arguably their biggest rival, Annemiek van Vleuten, having just announced her retirement, 2024 could be even more dominant.

Annemiek van Vleuten has just announced her retirement.

Sharing her concerns about the women’s World Tour, Annemiek van Vleuten worries that Team SD Worx’s dominance could cause long-term damage. “I would like to see more teams of equal strength fighting each other to make women’s cycling more interesting. In recent seasons, SD Worx has attracted such a high-quality team, creating a huge gap between themselves and their competitors. I think it would be better if the quality of the athletes was a little more spread out,” she told Bobby & Jens.

With names like Demi Vollering, Lotte Kopecky, Lorena Wiebes, Marlen Reusser, etc., Team SD Worx certainly has a star-studded lineup. These are riders who are ranked from 1st to 4th in the International Cycling Union (UCI) rankings.

Annemiek van Vleuten is a big rival for the SD Worx riders

The biggest rival to SD Worx’s star-studded lineup is Annemiek van Vleuten – Movistar’s world-ranked 5th-ranked racer. The Dutch girl is a two-time world road cycling champion, two-time world individual time trial champion and Tokyo Olympic time trial champion.

Annemiek van Vleuten was also on the radar of SD Worx scouts. So would she ever consider joining SD Worx? “The reason I went to Movistar and not the strongest team is because I think it’s better to have more teams fighting each other and spreading the quality. I think that’s a real danger for women’s cycling because it loses its appeal if one team wins too much,” she says.

Source: https://www.sggp.org.vn/su-thong-tri-cua-doi-sd-worx-nguy-hiem-voi-lang-xe-dap-nu-the-gioi-post716469.html