CANYON//SRAM Racing finished the Ford RideLondon Classique with Maike van der Duin sprinting to fifth place in today’s final stage. It gave the team its third top-ten place for the race after Soraya Paladin finished tenth and fifth on the first two stages. Soraya finished the three-day Women’s World Tour sixth overall.

The final stage was fast and furious, with a 91km course in central London. The team tried to bring Soraya into position to take bonus seconds on the first intermediate sprint, but several teams hotly contested it. The final sprint on The Mall was won by Lorena Wiebes, with Maike crossing the line in fifth place, again showing an impressive sprint after taking third at Vuelta a Burgos one week ago.

RIDER REACTIONS

Soraya Paladin: “Firstly, the last stage was cool because of the circuit in the centre of London; we are pretty lucky that we can do that. Then, it was hard and fast from the start. The bonus seconds at the intermediate sprints were important for a lot of riders. I tried to go for the first sprint. Alice, Tiffany and Agnieszka helped me to find a good wheel. I was in a good position and I tried but when the sprint started I understood it was impossible to take some bonus seconds. After the first one, I told the team on the radio we concentrate on the stage win for Maike. We did a decent job to keep her out of trouble in the last two laps. We lost each other in the last kilometre but she was on Lorena (Wiebes) wheel and Maike did a good sprint for us. It’s sad to again miss the podium, but it’s nice to see how we believe in each other and the improvements we are doing in the races.

I’m happy about my feeling during these three days. I was aiming for more but I’m also realistic and, for now, it’s hard for me to compete against pure sprinters and especially when you have almost all the best sprinters in the world here, it’s even harder.”

Maike van der Duin: “We had three good days with the team. Our progress in the Spanish races this month continued here in the UK. The first goal of the last stage was to bring Soraya to the intermediate sprints to go for the GC. It was hard to take the bonus seconds against the top sprinters who were also going for them. We lost one place on the GC but gave it our best. For the final sprint, the goal was to bring me into a good position. The team lost me in the final few kilometres, and I surfed some of the other team trains for a bit and I managed fifth place.

I’m happy with the weekend. I felt even better on the bike compared to Vuelta a Burgos. It’s the first time this season I’ve felt like my old self. So, I’m happy to have that feeling back.”

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