The Team presents another bold performance after the 2019 win
Trek-Segafredo overcame unexpected challenges to claim victory in the prestigious Postnord Vårgårda WestSweden team time trial.
Trek-Segafredo clocked the fastest time in every time check and crossed the line in 44 minutes and 56 seconds (47.537 km/h) to claim successive victories (the last in 2019) in the UCI Women’s WorldTour team time trial in Sweden.
The Trek-Segafredo team was comprised of TT World champion Ellen van Dijk, French TT champion Audrey Cordon-Ragot, European U23 TT champion Shirin van Anrooij, Lauretta Hanson, Chloe Hosking, and a last minute add, Amalie Dideriksen.
The 35.6-kilometer course saw a strong tailwind for the first half and a tough headwind for the return leg, but Trek-Segafredo paced themselves exceptionally well, especially after losing Lauretta Hanson to a puncture and then Chloe Hosking, leaving four riders to contend the rest of the course.
In the end, it was another dominant team performance in a discipline that is not raced often in women’s cycling, and no longer an event at the UCI World Championships.
The UCI WWT Postnord Vårgårda West Sweden continues Sunday with the road race.
Our performance was super special. I am really happy we could win this TTT. I think as a Team it’s super special when you can win a TTT and go to the podium together and celebrate with the staff because you do it all together. It’s really a team effort.
- Ellen Van Dijk
The reigning Time Trial World Champion, who was also part of the Trek-Segafredo squad that won the TTT in 2019, continues her analysis of today’s win:
“To be honest, I was not so sure that we could win this TTT because Elisa Longo Borghini got sick the day before, so we missed a big motor. We did not have all our TT specialists here, but I think a lot of other teams also struggled with this. Then we had some bad luck on the way out. Lauretta (Hanson) punctured, she is also a strong rider in our train, and we lost Chloe (Hosking) so we were down to four pretty early. And we knew we had to finish with four.
“Amalie (Dideriksen) was struggling so we had to adapt to the situation. She did a really great job but we knew she was our weakest link, so we had to adapt our speed to her. We rode with the three of us to bring her to the finish as fast as possible We did really well with that and used everyone’s strength in the best way making sure she got to the finish. It’s even better we won this TTT facing so many challenges on the way.
“The comments from the car were super important from Mattias (Reck, trainer) and Ina (Teutenberg, director); they changed the positioning for Audrey (Cordon-Ragot) and Shirin (van Anrooij) and could see when Amalie was on the limit – things I cannot see that they can see from the car.”
As a TT specialist, how did Ellen and her teammates manage the efforts?
“A TTT is all about making it smooth, it doesn’t matter who does the most work or less work, it’s about bringing the whole team as fast from start to the finish. We really used everyone strengths in the best possible way and that in the end really made a difference.
“Also, what made it a bit challenging was the tailwind on the way out – I saw a max speed of 72.5 km/h, so super fast, and on the way back a big headwind so we had to pace that a bit. We managed that as well.”
“We did not have a lot of training time for this disciple, only at the training camps where went all-in in December and January camps and that also made a difference,” said again Ellen.
“I think everyone is so used to this discipline that when we have to do it, we can. For Shirin it was her first time, and she was super excited, and she did really well. The secret is knowing who has to do what, knowing each other strengths, and we used that in best way. Also being dialed in with each other since we have ridden together for a while. And we have the best material and support. All in all, a great day and really happy we get to celebrate this with the whole team together,”
It was a real team effort, and done not only by the riders. Behind this win there's a real teamwork, from mechanics to soigneurs, to keep everything under control. Today's win is a great opportunity to show outside how every part of the team is essential for this results - Ellen Van Dijk
For team director Ina Teutenberg, even if the chances to practice the TTT during the year are sparse, the speciality has its relevance.
“We always take TTT seriously. We love this this race, and we normally have a really good team for these races. That’s our key of having a good attitude and approach,”
“We had some changes on the original squad, with Elisa Longo Borghini out at the last minute and we were lucky to be at the start with six. We had not the strongest team at the start, but we showed our unity. We rode well, we had a good pace since the beginning,”
“The puncture suffered by Lauretta early messed up things a bit and then we were four, but we didn’t lose the calmness and it was not a problem at all. To be honest, I was a bit surprised we won with this gap, but at the end we were solid from first to last kilometer. We did definitely well, and we can be really satisfied.”
