‘I want to develop everything’ – Shirin van Anrooij aims to carry Classics form into summer

Lidl-Trek’s young Dutch star Shirin van Anrooij is a rider who will have been on many radars for a few seasons now, but the 22-year-old has made an extra step up this Classics season.

Though she didn’t take a win herself, Van Anrooij has been part of some big wins for Lidl-Trek, taking five top-5s in some of the most important races of the spring, and even finishing on the podium of the Tour of Flanders.

“I'm really happy about my Classics season. I did feel like I made a step this winter, and it's really nice to be able to show it in the races and to be there fighting in a lot of the finals of the races, fighting for the podium and for the win,” she told GCN just before Liège-Bastogne-Liège.

“That's something you're dreaming of before the start of the season, and I can only look back on this spring in a really happy and proud way.”

Last spring, Van Anrooij took a win herself – at Trofeo Alfredo Binda – and though she hasn’t replicated that in 2024, she reflected on this spring as being better than 2023.

“Of course it's always special to win a race, especially last year when it was so unexpected, but then this year I've been riding really steady and been on the podium and been really racing the finals for the victory in a lot of the big Classics. So I think it's another step compared to last year, even though I didn't win one this year,” she said.

With a successful Classics under her belt, Van Anrooij’s eyes will soon turn to stage racing and big summer goals, where she’s proven she has just as much potential as in one-day racing.

After a busy spring, the Dutch rider is skipping the upcoming Vuelta Femenina to have a short rest, but will resume the Spanish block with the Navarra Classic (8 May), Itzulia Women (10-12 May) and the Vuelta a Burgos Feminas (16-19 May).

Van Anroiij has often shone in the Spanish stage races, finishing second overall in Burgos last year, but she remains quite balanced about her stage racing hopes, with any big ambitions probably a reserve for future seasons.

“Eventually yes, but I don't know if that's something for this year,” she said of her GC-winning ambitions. “I think most of all it's about gaining a lot of experience again, and also being able to deal with the pressure and being able to perform all those days in a row without having one really bad day in between. Then maybe also using Itzulia and Navarra to become stronger again towards Burgos, but it's also about how you recover from all the Classics.

“I hope to have a good level of racing in Itzulia and Burgos, to use that as a good confidence boost to work towards the Tour de France and I think there it's just about, again, gaining a lot of experience and seeing if I've also made a step up in this kind of racing after making this step in the Classics this year.”

Developing as an all-rounder and handling the pressure

With successes so far in the Classics and stage racing, Van Anrooij sees no reason to choose one or the other. An aptitude for both is something most of the best riders in the peloton have, perhaps more so than on the men’s side of the sport.

“I think you have to be an all-rounder. You have to be able to do a bit of everything,” she said of the specialisms in women’s cycling. “Maybe it will change a bit more in the upcoming years, but right now I think it's best to try and develop all of it. I think I'm still discovering more and more what my best things are, my specialities, but right now I want to develop everything and become a better rider in general.”

Although still only 22, Van Anrooij is one of the more experienced riders in the Lidl-Trek roster. This is her fourth full season as a pro, and a podium at Flanders will elevate her into an elite selection of top riders in the peloton. Even so, she is well aware of what she still has to learn.

“Yes and no,” she answered when asked if she feels like an experienced rider. “That's always a bit changing. I still have a lot of moments where I don't know what to do, or I ask in the radio or to my teammates. Even with just small things like moving up through the bunch and saving as much energy as possible. This is something that the experienced riders are really helping me with.

“I think those are just all really small steps to really grow. In some ways maybe it looks like I do have the experience, and I try to follow my instinct, like when I attacked in Flanders, but then at the same time in Nieuwsblad in the final I had no idea what to do.”

© Getty Images

Van Anrooij celebrates with Elisa Longo Borghini at the finish of the Tour of Flanders

In fact, that mental assurance and calmness is perhaps even more crucial to Van Anrooij than her physical ability, which is clear there, and the change this year has been her ability to deal with the pressure in big moments.

“I think sometimes [the mental side] is even more important, because a lot of the times your legs are there, but if you're getting too stressed or you don't have enough confidence, then it's really hard to be there in the final,” she said.

“But for me it's been really good, racing with Elisa as a leader also takes some pressure off my shoulders, but also with other experienced riders like Lucinda [Brand] and Amanda [Spratt] who will also be there to support me in every way they can, and can give me some extra confidence and make me a bit less stressed during the race, which is super helpful.”

What’s more, despite her successes so far, being in a team full of many stars means Van Anrooij is still given space to develop, rather than being given leadership status or pressure too early.

“They really try to help me with that and they also give me time to discover and learn,” she said.

“That's also a really nice feeling, to feel like they believe in me, but they don't try to push me too fast. Which also gives me more confidence and also makes me a bit more relaxed going into some of the races.”

There are things Van Anrooij still wants to work on – her short, explosive power is what she identified as a main area – but it’s clear she’s taken a lot of confidence from the spring, and will be hoping to carry that momentum into her next goals, in Spain, the Tour de France and beyond.

“I hope to have a good level of racing in Itzulia and Burgos, to use that as a good confidence boost to work towards the Tour de France and I think there it's just about, again, gaining a lot of experience and seeing if I've also made a step up in this kind of racing after making this step in the Classics this year.”

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