A short 3.9-kilometer time trial kicks off the BeNe Ladies Tour
The BeNe Ladies Tour opened with a 3.9-kilometer time trial and Ellen van Dijk was second fastest around the short circuit in Utrecht, a race very close to her home.
Van Dijk, the European Time Trial champion, set the best time in 4:58, the only rider to go under five minutes until Lisa Klein (Canyon SRAM) stopped the clock two seconds faster. The last rider to start, Amy Pieters (Boels-Dolmans), came close to van Dijks’ time, finishing in 4:59 to round out the podium.
This prologue is like 10 kilometers from home, so I really wanted to be good, so I am not really satisfied, but Lisa Klein was faster. I expected her to be good here, she's good at these prologues, especially the cornering, and I think in the corners is where I really lost my time. But that's part of it.
The rain started as van Dijk set off, not ideal conditions in a short, technical time trial, but she was quick to point out that Klein had similar conditions.
“When I started it started raining also, so I was a bit extra scared in the corners,” explained van Dijk. “But it’s not an excuse because it was raining for most of the girls and when Lisa Klein was riding, I think the roads were still wet, so it didn’t make a difference. It just made it extra challenging in the corners.”
Second place is alright, not what I wanted, but I thought there was a big possibility [Klein] would be better than me today. The short time trials are not my specialty. It's an all-day preparation for five minutes of racing and when I finish I think, 'that's it?!' I finish and I am ready to go again. They are good to do, but really for the specialists; I prefer the longer time trials.
Letizia Paternoster was the next highest finisher for Trek-Segafredo. She is back with the team after closing out her track season at the recent U23 European Championships where she won three titles in the Elimination, Madison and Team Pursuit races. Paternoster put her fast track legs to the tarmac and finished in 5:07 for a respectable 11th place.
The race continues with the first stage Friday, a 121.2-kilometer race from Essen to Roosendaal.
