In her first cyclo-cross race of the season, Marianne made a statement by taking the win at the Ethias Cross Essen.

Saturday’s race in Belgium was Marianne’s first race since she secured the bronze medal at World Championships back in February. After winning the Women’s WorldTour overall title in October, Ethias Cross Essen was a stark contrast to racing on the road. In true cyclo-cross fashion, the race was extremely muddy and slick. With her closet competition losing traction in the mud halfway through the race and running into a barrier, Marianne road comfortably to the line for the victory.

“I chose to take a break after the end of the road season and to take the time to work towards cyclo-cross, resulting in a somewhat shorter cross-season,” said Marianne. “That may not be ideal in light of a favourable starting position, but I accept that. People who know me know that I enjoy cyclo-cross and that I love to get in action this winter.”

Marianne will race again Wednesday at the X20 Trofee Herentals, where season standouts Lucinda Brand and Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado will both be riding, having sat out the Ethias Cross.

“Herentals will be a different story,” Marianne said. “It’s difficult to put an expectation on it, because I don’t know where I am against the others. Lucinda Brand is having a good series, Alvarado and Worst have already shown themselves. There is a large group that achieves a high level. I am not sure where I stand, but I will try to find my place.”

 

Follow CCC-Liv on Facebook as the team will organise several Facebook Live sessions with riders in the coming period.

Next Thursday (5 pm CEST) they will have the first Facebook Live with an opportunity to ask questions to Marianne (until approximately 5.30 pm).

If you cannot wait and already want to send in your question, send an email to media@ccclivteam.eu or post a question on social media with the hashtag #AskMarianne.

Marianne finished fifth on Sunday in the Dutch cyclo-cross Championship in Rucphen. It was her last appearance in the field this winter. Next week, she will be medically treated for a groin disorder.

Marianne: “The complaints have been around for some time. A recent check-up revealed the cause: a nod in the artery. In consultation with the CCC-Liv medical team, I decided to have surgery performed as quickly as possible. Racing in the Dutch championship wouldn’t physically do any harm. I wanted to prepare myself at rest to be as fit as possible and to go to the limit one more time today.”

The operation on the artery in the groin will take place next Thursday. “If everything goes according to plan, I can burden my body again six weeks after the procedure. In cooperation with the team, I am working on a recovery process in order to achieve my goals during the road season. However, a successful operation has top priority at the moment.”

Marianne starts her cyclo-cross season next Saturday (7 December) in the Brico Cross in Essen (Belgium). She will focus more on cyclo-cross after the CCC-Liv’s training camp (9-19 December).

Marianne: “I chose to take a break after the end of the road season and to take the time to work towards cyclo-cross, resulting in a somewhat shorter cross-season. That may not be ideal in light of a favourable starting position, but I accept that. People who know me know that I enjoy cyclo-cross and that I love to get in action this winter. In particular after the training camp with CCC-Liv, more races have been scheduled with some nice, important ones.”

Programme (provisional)

  • 07-12 Brico Cross Essen (Belgium)
  • 22-12 World Cup Namen (Belgium)
  • 26-12 World Cup Heusden-Zolder (Belgium)
  • 05-01 GP Brussels (Belgium)
  • 12-01 Dutch Championship Rucphen (the Netherlands)
  • 26-01 World Cup Hoogerheide (the Netherlands)
  • 02-02 World Championship Dübendorf (Switserland)