On 16 September 1978, Hage set a world hour record at Munich with 43.082 km.

[3][4]The Dutch cycling federation, the KNWU, gave her a job working with women coming up in her place.

But that would have involved taking a course and passing examinations, which did not appeal, and there were reports that the KNWU did not encourage her to do so.

She taught handicrafts part-time at a college near her home in Kloetinge outside Goes, in Zeeland, and rode a bike a lot less, saying in 1990 that she missed that but not racing.

[4] She gave away all the rainbow jerseys she won as world champion.

I can understand the other girls getting disillusioned because I usually won, and I suppose in retrospect that is not necessarily so good for the sport:[4]She never enjoyed meeting journalists.

Now there are girls here in Holland who go out of their way to seek publicity, and it is good because it draws attention to women's racing, but I could never go running after the reporters and so on.