Lorena Wiebes sprints to victory in stage 1 of The Tour of Britain

Team SD Worx-Protime made a strong start to the Tour of Britain Women. In the opening stage, the team rode attentively at the front throughout the day, tried to open up the race on several occasions and ultimately kept things under control heading towards the sprint. There, Lorena Wiebes finished off the team’s work perfectly with the victory.

Sports director Christian Kos was pleased with the way the team approached the race.

“It was a good race today. I’m very happy with the team’s performance and, of course, with Lorena’s victory,” said Kos.

“We were attentive throughout the whole stage. At several points during the race, we tried to force something and get one of our riders into a breakaway. The section along the water looked like the ideal place to do that, but unfortunately the peloton didn’t split there. It did break up on the climbs, and we were always well represented at the front.”

“Once a strong group had gone clear and we had the right riders in there, we waited for quite a long time to see whether or not the stage could be decided from a breakaway. When it became clear that this wouldn’t be the case, we made the decision to keep the race together and bring Lorena to the finish in the best possible position. In the end, that worked out perfectly.”

Wiebes also praised the way the team raced throughout the stage.

“The beginning of the race was fairly calm. There was a chance of crosswinds, so we made sure to stay well positioned at the front, but in the end not much happened there. Then we reached the climbs and the attacks really started. Whenever the race split, we were always well represented in the different groups. The team did a great job today.”

“After the intermediate sprint, the pace went up again and it stayed hard until around five kilometres from the finish. On the narrow roads, it was sometimes difficult to move back towards the front of the reduced peloton, so staying well positioned was important.”

In the finale, Team SD Worx-Protime delivered a strong lead-out.

“Steffi Häberlin and Julia Kopecky first kept the pace high. Then it was up to Lotte Kopecky and Mischa Bredewold to take over the lead-out. Lotte brought Mischa and me perfectly into the final corner with around 500 metres to go. Mischa then kept the speed high, and with 200 metres remaining I was able to launch my sprint. It was executed really well.”

Wiebes then rewarded her teammates’ work with the stage victory.

“It’s a really nice way to start the Tour of Britain, especially compared to last year. Hopefully we can keep this momentum going over the next few days.”

Kos agreed.

“Perfect teamwork today, and we’re very happy with the result. A great start to the Tour of Britain.”