It was the strongest team of all and everything. La SD Worx not only dominated the Tour Femmes, but he was able to manage a series of adverse and controversial circumstances which could have denied them the final success. This time the term "battleship" fits perfectly for the Dutch team and da Elena Cecchini We asked them to tell us the behind the scenes story of this last week lived at high intensity.
Victory to be savoured
Four out of eight stages won, the yellow and green jerseys worn from start to finish, and the team classification. SD Worx's lead was clear, so the end-of-Tour celebrations were well deserved. Cecchini has a few minutes free before heading to dinner with her teammates and staff. The emotion is there, but it doesn't overwhelm her voice; she's always very clear-headed.. And of course also aware of what they just did.
«For this evening (last night, ed.) we had already decided that we would all be together – explains the Friulian – regardless of how the Tour would have goneThe plan was to return home on Monday. Even more so We enjoy the evening celebrating these victoriesWe finished with a podium all our own in the time trial. These results are important for our entire team, for our sponsors. For us, every race is important, we've always said that. We don't usually put pressure on ourselves but this year the "weight" of the Tour was felt a lot.These have not been easy days for us. Things happened that could create mental instabilityQuestionable decisions were made against us, but we always remained focused."
Where triumph is born
Fifth stage, Vollering He punctured and used the slipstream of his team car, driven by sports director Danny Stam, to rejoin the main pack. Without going into too much detail, these are scenes that often appear in men's and women's races, where the rules are in limbo, but the judges didn't approve. Stam is expelled from the race and Vollering receives a twenty-second penalty in the general classification.Sanctions that could cost the Tour. SD Worx protests and acknowledges the decision.
«It almost seemed like – comments Cecchini – that they were waiting for us at the pass on purposeThat we did something strange to punish ourselves. It's a feeling we hadThis year it's as if we're annoying them because we win a lot, but they don't remember, for example, that Wiebes he won twenty races a year at DSM too. And then Personally, I was very upset by what happened at the Vuelta.Demi (Vollering, ed.) attacked while she was peeing. Among men that is a peaceful and inconsequential break, but for us it becomes a moment of further stress. Just think that at the sixth stage a friend of mine and I stopped to do it, but Anna (Van der Breggen, the other sports director, ed.) told us that we couldn't risk it again after Danny's exclusion. We thought we could get back by taking advantage of the slipstream of the other flagships as always happens but instead all the cars were overtaking us quickly..
"In any case," she continues, "we didn't lose our motivation. Danny stayed with us anyway and professed calm. Our team is very solid and united, but in these difficulties we have become even closer.Something more clicked. We immediately understood that there was no point in wasting precious mental and physical energy trying to assert our rights. On this tour I was in Demi's room and I always saw her calm.He knew he could get those twenty seconds back thanks to his condition and us. He handled everything brilliantly. Even Lotte (Kopecky, ed.) she was fabulous in holding on as long as she could on the TourmaletSeeing her there destabilized her opponents, but in my opinion she couldn't wait for Demi to make a move so she could move up her own pace. That was a tacticAs a team, I feel like we can face and overcome anything."
Leader comrades
SD Worx has reached 53 Tour wins this season. And behind these victories, there's always someone doing a fundamental, yet obscure, job. Cecchini feels very suited to this role, almost to the point of putting aside her personal ambitions, even though the Dutch team has shown that there is room for everyone.There are still many goals to achieve, but how was the Tour prepared?
"I also raced the Giro Donne," continues the 31-year-old five-time Italian champion between road and time trials, "and they are totally different races both in level and route. If you've noticed, we never had a calm day at the TourWe were always going really fast. The stress also took its toll. Vollering and Kopecky were right to focus only on the Tour. It's a race where you have to be mentally fresh if you want to win or get the maximum.I believe that in the coming years, many athletes will no longer be able to race the Giro and the Tour hoping to do well in both. Although I hope that the Giro, organized by RCS Sport, can grow in importance like the Tour.
“I don’t know if we’ll get to sixty victories,” Cecchini concludes, “but I can tell you that my teammates will race the Tour of Scandinavia like they did in France. We're just thinking about enjoying this season because 2024 will be an Olympic year and we know that there could be some variables. Rather, I can tell you that Kopecky will be the number one favorite for the world championship in Glasgow.I say this without fear because it's right that our national team knows this so we can come up with something to beat it. Lorena too (Wiebes, ed.) she will be very strong, but Lotte came out in great formI knew she was doing very well, but I didn't expect this much. She was strong on the climbs and equally strong in the time trials, managing to finish second overall in the Tour. That's quite a feat for her. Now I'll take a few days off to recover from a knock I suffered in the third stage, then I'll focus on the world championship.».
