Marianne is on the rebound. “Luckily, I’m feeling better and have been training since a couple of days. It all feels well, even though I have, of course, not yet progressed to the point where I should and want to be.”

She is leaving today for a training camp. “I have been out due to illness. In order to get completely in shape and back to the proper level, I will benefit at this point more from a training camp than a cyclo-cross race. I will join Pauliena (Rooijakkers, red.) in Mallorca, my teammate who has been there for a couple of days.”

After her training camp, Marianne intends to compete in the world cup cross in Hoogerheide, after which there is one more week to go until the world championship on the Cauberg in Valkenburg. “I realise the scenario is far from ideal, but I feel more fit and that means another step forward.”