There have been 109 riders on the beginning line of this yr’s Itzulia Girls, all totally different folks with totally different targets. There have been 20 totally different groups, all desirous to get one thing out of the WorldTour race, all with plans in place for part of the three-day stage race.
And but, for the third yr operating, the outcomes make it appear like 19 of these groups may as nicely not have bothered. There have been 12 alternatives to win throughout Itzulia Girls’s quick historical past – 9 levels, and three general titles – they usually have all been received by SD Worx-Protime.
Not solely that, however six of these levels and two of these titles have been received by Demi Vollering, who did what she at all times does within the Basque Nation on Sunday, successful as soon as extra.
It’s an unimaginable feat, even whether it is, in actuality, simply three years. The information set is perhaps small, however it additionally could not be extra conclusive.
“To win each stage til now, three years in a row, that’s unimaginable really, thrice is historical past I feel,” Vollering mentioned. “We might be very happy with this. You by no means assume that you are able to do one thing like this, however to do it once more, to win all of the levels right here, that’s unimaginable.
“It says one thing about how robust a crew we’re, and in addition how a lot we like these sorts of races, to be at all times very energetic and take it in our personal fingers. I’m actually proud to complete it off right here.”
Vollering’s efficiency was one factor, however her youthful teammate, Mischa Bredewold, additionally took two stage wins in two totally different conditions, belying her 23 years. The primary got here in what was, successfully, a bunch dash, whereas the second got here after she bridged throughout to a late break within the day, comfortably out-powering her two companions.
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(Picture credit score: Getty Photographs)
On paper, the efficiency ought to fear the crew’s rivals. It comes after a dominant race from Vollering on the Vuelta Femenina, and the crew appears to be like nicely again on monitor after a combined spring Classics marketing campaign, throughout which era their Dutch chief did not clinch a win.
It speaks of one of the best girls’s crew being again on the perch, as they have been final yr with their staggering 62 wins. With extra stage races looming, together with the Giro d’Italia Girls and the Tour de France Femmes, and with SD Worx again of their groove, extra wins will certainly come.
Nonetheless, all will not be over for SD Worx’s rivals, like Canyon-SRAM, Lidl-Trek and FDJ-Suez. The squads can use the teachings they discovered from the Classics to problem them at stage races as nicely, to place them off their rhythm. If SD Worx are left to experience their very own race, as they have been so typically in 2023, and at Itzulia, then it looks like wins may solely go a technique. If different groups take the combat to the Dutch squad, then races open up.
The fissure opened up by the announcement that Vollering is to depart SD Worx has not been completely repaired, even when issues appear rosy for now. It needs to be famous that the Dutchwoman has solely received this yr within the absence of her world champion teammate, Lotte Kopecky; it would simply be that there’s solely room for one within the 2024 iteration.
Vollering and Kopecky shall be separated on the Giro and the Tour, with the previous going to France and the latter to Italy, however this does additionally imply that SD Worx won’t be wholly at 100%. All will not be over for the opposite groups of the Girls’s WorldTour, removed from it, even when their adventures within the Basque Nation made it seem to be it, for the third yr in a row.
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