Outgoing overall winner Lorena Wiebes aims to boost victory total in Simac Ladies Tour

Outgoing overall winner Lorena Wiebes aims to boost victory total in Simac Ladies Tour

"This is a special Tour"

04/09/2023

In the Simac Ladies Tour (5-10 September), Lorena Wiebes hopes to come out strong like last year. In 2022, Wiebes managed to win the first two stages and then defended her leader's jersey in the Limburg hills and in the time trial. This year too, she is aiming for a good classification. The European champion managed to take 11 victories so far in 2023. "With some missed goals, I am extra hungry. I hope to compete for high finishes and stage wins again. My final goal this season is of course the European championship in Drenthe."

Linked race Simac Ladies Tour - Linked cyclists Lorena Wiebes

Team SD Worx is heading to the Simac Ladies Tour with a rock-solid team. World champion Lotte Kopecky, Tour de France winner Demi Vollering, Mischa Bredewold, Femke Markus, Elena Cecchini, Barbara Guarischi and European champion and outgoing overall winner Lorena Wiebes. Although 2023 was a successful year for Wiebes, it was not the easiest season either. Due to bad luck, Wiebes had to continuously make adjustments. First, she saw her big goals of spring Brugge-De Panne and Gent-Wevelgem dropped. She also saw her summer targets, taking green at the Tour de France Femmes and scoring at the World Championships in Glasgow, disrupted by illness. Each time, she recovered magnificently. In spring by making history in the Scheldeprijs with a third win in a row. After the World Championships, she immediately won the first stage in the Tour of Scandinavia. 

"Maybe I shouldn't declare any more goals," Wiebes says with a smile. "The 2023 season is a season with some setbacks. Despite this, I remember above all that I have had a nice evolution from a pure sprint star to a multi-talented rider. I am happy that I feel there is still stretch to it. The choice of Team SD Worx turned out to be the right one. Okay, my win total is less than last year, but I consciously chose quality over quantity. I think I picked up victories that rank higher than last year's since they were now mainly WorldTour races. After I didn't reach my best level in the Tour and the World Championships due to illness, I quickly turned the knob. I now try to look at it positively. That's how I'm going into the last races of the season fresh. I'm hungry to bang one more time. And I want to show that in the Simac Ladies Tour."

Wiebes managed to win the Dutch WorldTour stage race last year. "This will always be a special Tour for me. My form is good . I hope to be close in the GC for as long as possible. There are some sprint opportunities ahead. The time trial is not that particularly long and I should also be able to handle the stage in Limburg. But that goes for more girls in this team. We will have a strong team at the start and hopefully we can keep a high ranking for as long as possible. Because overall victory is the goal with Team SD Worx."

For Wiebes, the Simac Ladies Tour forms the final race towards the European championships. The outgoing champion hopes to defend her jersey. "Such a championship in our own country will be special. It is an advantage that, as Dutch girls, we know the VAM mountain well since the NK has been held there several times and the Ronde van Drenthe always visits this climb. On Thursday I explored the new part of the course with the newly constructed climb 'the roof of Drenthe'. It does add value I must admit. We go over it six times, so that might cut some people's legs. I like the finish, so I hope I can wear this nice jersey next year too. But first I will try to honour it in Simac Ladies Tour by taking another win."

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