CANYON//SRAM Racing had Kasia Niewiadoma finish La Course by Le Tour de France yesterday in 13th position as its best placed rider. The exciting race was won by Marianne Vos (CCC) ahead of Leah Kirchmann (SUN).

With Alexis Ryan representing the team in the main 11-rider breakaway of the day, it was on the final two laps of the hilly circuit that the race came even more alive. As attack and breakaway attempts went and came back, a final solo effort from Amanda Spratt (MTS) escaped for much of the final 20km but was reeled in by a group of around 30 riders coming to fight for the final short, steep climb to the finish.

Read what the riders from CANYON//SRAM Racing had to say after the race.

Alexis Ryan

“I had a surprisingly good day on the bike! I wasn’t sure if I would be completely recovered from the Giro Rosa, and I don’t think I am, but I had good legs at the start. I followed the third or fourth attack of the day and it stuck for three laps. It was good for me to be up there and take the pressure off the girls in the peloton.”

“I was pretty smoked by the time we got caught, and only Kasia and Alena made the front group. The other girls just didn’t have good legs, and I’m sure it’s residual fatigue from the Giro Rosa. Unfortunately, Alena had a mechanical. That meant Kasia was alone in a group of 35. The end result was disappointing for us, but it’s not who we are. We’re capable of more.”

Tiffany Cromwell

“It certainly wasn’t our best race as a team. It was a tough circuit but we had a good and open plan beforehand. It was great to have Alexis in the early break. She rode really well, and it meant we were represented in the move.”

“From behind it took a little while before the race really heated up. But when it did on lap four of five. It completely blew up and is where we struggled the most. Kasia, as always, was able to fight strong to be there, and Alena was there too. But the rest of us were suffering today.”

“For me personally, I didn’t have good legs. I was hoping to ride into the race. But it never happened. I didn’t stop fighting. But when the action really went down. I couldn’t be there to help anymore.”

“Unfortunately Alena suffered a mechanical at a bad moment so she dropped from the front group, leaving Kasia on her own. Kasia did the best she could with the situation.” 

“We were all pretty disappointed. Especially after coming off such a run of strong races together. But sometimes it just doesn’t come together. We were able to talk about and identify the areas where we made our mistakes and can hopefully improve them for the next race.”

Hannah Barnes

“The atmosphere was really nice and I enjoyed the crowds but that’s pretty much the only thing I did enjoy. I’m normally okay with early mornings but today got me good. I’m disappointed with my own performance and that I wasn’t there for Kasia in the final. Now I have a little bit of time off to recover and prepare for the next two months of racing.”

Alice Barnes

“It was nice to be back racing with the team and in my new British champ stripes. It was quite a tough course for me with the long climb and I lacked a bit of speed. Alexis was great in the days break but as a team we didn’t race our best race and already look forward to improve on this for the next races.”

Kasia Niewiadoma

“It was a tough day. It was brutal to recover in such a short time from the Giro Rosa and to race a really aggressive La Course. I did my best and I fought hard but we didn’t achieve what we aimed for.”

Alena Amialiusik

“The race was very nice and I really liked the course. It was so cool with a lot of people on the side of the road cheering for us.”

“We started really fast from the beginning and our post Giro Rosa legs hurt so much but I think everyone had the same! We had Alexis in early break away and it was good situation for us.”

“On the fourth lap, the action started again and her break away was caught. The peloton separated and I was with Kasia in the front group,  I tried to help her but on the second uphill I had mechanical problem where my chain dropped off and I had to stop to fix it. I am so sad because I couldn’t get back to the front group and it’s a weird feeling when you are dropped from the front group not because of your legs. I hoped for more today.”

Yesterday, CANYON//SRAM Racing at BeNe Ladies Tour had Lisa Klein finish in tenth position on stage one in Essen. After winning the opening prologue on Thursday, Klein is now second on the general classification, one second behind new leader Amy Pieters (DLT). Today’s double stage is a short road stage in Sluis, followed by an individual time trial stage in the afternoon in Watervliet. The race can be followed on Twitter with #BNLT19.

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