Van Vleuten error: “She must draw strength from it”

British newspaper The Guardian calls it one of the biggest misconceptions in Olympic cycling and according to New Zealand newspaper New Zealand Herald it is the biggest Olympic mistake in history. She takes it a little easier on her own. She told RTL Nieuws that she is still proud of her Olympic medal. However, this miss will remain in the history books.

“This is the one we will remember because she crosses the finish line with glee as the gold winner and finds out a little later that it is silver. It is very remarkable for a Olympic competition, ”said sport historian Jurryt van de Vooren of sporthistorie. .nl against EditieNL. “But we’ve seen something like this before. For example, with Sven Kramer during the Vancouver Winter Olympics.”

Bad job

Kramer kept the wrong lane for the 10 km due to a communication error with his trainer. He missed out on gold because of it. “So you see that in high performance sport it’s not about who is the best but who wins in the end. Players also make mistakes and that’s what is unexpected in sport. high level and that’s what makes it so fun. “

For the historian, this is a fascinating event. Van Vleuten will come back to it with a little less enthusiasm. But according to former top athlete Leontien Zijlaard-van Moorsel, Van Vleuten can also gain extra strength from it. “I once fell suddenly during an Olympic race. I was upset for a day. I really had to get up. But my surroundings kept telling me it was the best. And that I had the best legs. much to believe in me. “

against the watch

A few days after her fall, she again won gold in the time trial. Maybe this will also happen to Van Vleuten. She will also perform a time trial in two days.