CANYON//SRAM Racing yesterday finished the final stage of the 2019 Giro Rosa Iccrea, with Kasia Niewiadoma placing fifth on the stage. The 120km stage from San Vito al Tagliamento to Udine, Italy, was won by Marianne Vos (CCC).

After a tough ten days, the team placed Niewiadoma fifth in the general classification, with Annemiek van Vleuten (MTS) taking her second Giro Rosa Iccrea overall win. Read the reactions from each of the CANYON//SRAM Racing riders below.

Kasia Niewiadoma

“I faced a huge disappointment on stage nine. Losing my third place in GC made me feel devastated and purely sad.. Maybe not only because of my own personal goals, but because of not being able to finish off the great work of my entire team! All of our staff and riders were going through the stages with so much passion and love! Everyone dreamed big and never wanted to give up! We created special feelings and memories that I will not forget.”

“We had amazing start to the Giro Rosa.Winning the TTT awakened this huge desire inside me––to deliver more results like this together with my ‘chicas’! We were fighting until the end. The reality is, that there are some girls who are stronger than us and we need to accept it and take the lessons for the future! I see a huge potential in our group of riders and I do believe that if we continue racing like this and have so much fun off the bike, then we will get to the very top in the near future.”

Alena Amialiusik

“The Giro Rosa was awesome. We won the first stage together, Kasia had the pink jersey for five stages, we rode very well every day, and we supported each other for ten stages. We rode as a team together until the finish line of the last stage and that makes me so proud of our group.” 

“For me personally, I expected a little bit better legs, but the fifth stage was a very bad one for me and I lost a lot on GC. I’m really happy now to have finished the Giro Rosa. That in itself is a small victory, because in 2017 and 2018 I couldn’t do that because of crashes and injuries. So, this year to finish in ‘one piece’ is actually a success for me!”

Hannah Barnes

“Overall I am happy with how I rode. I did what I could when I could for the team. For me the best day was the TTT day. I gave everything that day and it hurt A LOT  but it was worth it! Standing on the podium with the whole team was really special.”

“We’ve had a lot of fun. We were always laughing and joking and the vibe was really nice. We raced really well together and were committed to one another’s goals.”

Omer Shapira

“Firstly, I was impressed with the attitude of each of our riders and staff during these last ten days. There were several opportunities to fall down, but everyone was able to keep the energy high. It was nice to feel a part of this positive family. Our good vibes also affected our team’s performance, everybody was committed, and did their best.”

“Personally, in general I’m happy that I could feel a part of the team’s success. I still have a lot to learn, and to process, but I feel I am becoming better and better. I hoped to be able to do more in the mountain-top finish stages, but unfortunately It was hard for me physically and mentally to put myself there at the real moments when everyone knows that the climb is about to start and there is a lot of extra tension in the group. In these moments I’m too stressed and I found it difficult to manage that. I believe that I can do better in this kind of race, so that makes me hungry for more.”

Tiffany Cromwell 

“I think this would have to be one of the best Giro Rosa’s we’ve had as a team. Performance wise, it couldn’t have started better with the TTT win. I think that was the highlight. Then, for everyone to commit so strongly to the common goals each day. Keeping Kasia in pink for four more days was amazing. Everyone pitched in every day. We worked so hard together and rode so well as a team. We continued the fight to help keep Kasia on GC podium all the way to the end. It didn’t quite work out, as she suffered on the last GC day, but we know she gave everything she possibly had, and because of this, none of us were disappointed. Kasia rode so strongly all tour and will grow from this.”

“For me personally, I was pretty happy with my performance. I knew it was going to be a hard one for me with all the climbing. My role was always going to be as a support rider, but I wanted to push myself further in the climbs to improve my climbing again. I believe I achieved that, and I had only one bad day out of ten. I was certainly climbing a lot better than I have been all season. I was happy to be able to support the team a lot and back up quite well from start to finish.”

“It was a nice time together. We kept positive vibes most the time, with lots of smiles and I think that’s what helped get us through the ten days so well. I’m looking forward to some good recovery, and I feel that I will come out of this race even stronger for the last part of the season.”

Alexis Ryan

“Personally, I wish I could have been stronger to help the team more. I did what I could with the fitness I have at the moment. Overall, the team’s performance was spectacular. We raced our hearts out together. I’m really proud of everyone!”

Facebook

Twitter