18 months after her last race, Ellen van Dijk returned to winning ways in her favorite discipline: a time trial. The three-time World Champion set the fastest time in the third and final stage of Vuelta Extremadura Féminas, a 17km race against the clock in Zafra. Ellen was closely followed by teammate Brodie Chapman, 24 seconds behind.
In addition to the stage victory, Lidl-Trek’s climbing superstar Gaia Realini rode a strong race of truth to cement her second position in the General Classification, and was joined by Brodie on the podium, in third place overall.
The win in Ellen's words
“Of course, I’m really happy to win this race but I’m really focusing on the process that I’m in right now. I reached the goal that I wanted right now, and that’s not specifically about winning a race but more about power output, my approach to the race and how I execute the plan, and this all went well. I’m happy with where my level is at the moment and it is consistent with my expectations. In general, I still notice that my level can fluctuate a bit, like yesterday I actually felt really not good on the bike, so there’s still some hormones affecting my performance sometimes, but I was happy with what I could do today and of course it’s really nice to win the time trial on my first race back. It’s a special feeling.
I was expecting to do what I did today, that’s what I wanted and I’m happy I was able to do it, especially after a bad day yesterday I’m happy that I still had a good day today. I knew what my level was form training. It’s a really nice form to build up from, I still need to improve but I’m really happy with where I am now.
I’m really looking forward to the Classics, it was super nice to be back with the Team, to have the whole race feeling again and it was also super cool to race with all the young riders here. I think we all learnt a lot – they learnt a lot, I learnt a lot again. We had a really good atmosphere and I’m really looking forward to racing with all my other teammates as well. I can’t wait to get more of this! I’m looking forward to more.”
Gaia on the podium; her reaction:
"I am more than satisfied with what I did in the first stages races of the season [3 races, 3 top fives]. Today's podium once again confirms to me that I am on the right path. The change of route in yesterday's queen stage, without the summit finish, also changed my prospects for winning the race. In the end, it didn't go badly at all because I still managed to get into the breakaway and onto the podium. Today's time trial was a very useful exercise in a speciality where I know I have to work and improve, especially when I look to the future and the possibility of fighting in the GC. The goal was to bring out the best and I think I succeeded.
I am happy with my takeaways from the race. Each race is a step of growth but, above all, to see where to focus and work hard to improve. My strengths are known, the weak ones are where to focus."
