Visma | Lease a Bike and SD Worx-Protime realistic after Vuelta start: “Backlog could be greater”

Visma | Lease a Bike and SD Worx-Protime had mixed feelings after the team time trial of La Vuelta Femenina, because both teams were very close to victory. The yellow-black team came second, just nine (!) hundredths behind Lidl-Trek and Demi Vollering’s formation was stranded at just over one second. Yet both Dutch teams were realistic afterwards.

This is due to the crash of Lidl-Trek in the last bend, including Ellen van Dijk. As a result, several riders were held up and the team gave away a large part of their accumulated lead. Nevertheless, Lidl-Trek won the team time trial. “The difference is very small, but that was mainly due to the Lidl-Trek crash,” acknowledges Riejanne Markus, leader of Visma | Lease a Bike. “If they had not fallen there, the difference would of course have been greater.”

“I think we can certainly be satisfied with the performance we have delivered,” said Markus on the team website. Sports director Jos van Emden expected more. “We could have won this stage without a few minor mistakes. There were still too many moments where we got in each other’s way or when the repayment did not go smoothly enough. But if Lidl-Trek doesn’t fall, they will win by a mile.”

At SD Worx-Protime they also look back on a good team time trial. “We also have to be honest that if Ellen van Dijk does not fall, the difference would be even greater,” sports director Danny Stam reflects. “We made up some time in the final phase, but otherwise we would never have closed the gap of 13 seconds at the intermediate point. We have to be realistic about this.”

“As expected, Marlen Reusser was one of the engines in this team time trial. After her crash in the Tour of Flanders, she is already at a good level and will only get stronger,” said Stam, who saw a strong Vollering and also wants to keep Niamh Fisher-Black in the rankings for a short time. “She wasn’t allowed to take the lead, because we don’t want to lose time with her. The differences are minimal and that gives confidence for the rest of the round.”