This is the week of the national championships. The WM3 Pro Cycling riders will be in action at various places and at different times. Rotem Gafinovitz already ensured a first podium spot by finishing 2nd in the time trial in Israel.
A lot of attention goes out to the Dutch championship in the town of Montferland. This coming Wednesday, Riejanne Markus (at 3.58 pm) and Anouska Koster (at 4.04 pm) will participate in the time trial (25 kilometres). Both WM3 Pro Cycling riders carried out several tests in order to gain an advantage on this specialty, such as the wind tunnel testing at Ridley in Belgium and testing the ideal bike position at the Cycling Performance Centre in Eindhoven.
Tough race
The Dutch championship time trial is followed by the road race (132 kilometres) on Saturday. Many eyes are on Anouska Koster. A year ago, she seized the red-white-blue at the Brouwersdam, and she will start in ‘s Heerenberg for the very first time in the neutral green-black WM3 Pro Cycling jersey. Anouska did a recon of the course some time ago.
“The route has quite some slopes. It never takes long before the road goes slightly uphill or downhill. The 2 real climbs could have an impact closer to the final, especially the Peeskesbult could play a decisive role. A tough climb and at the top accelerating again”, says Anouska. “It will be a lap which will never really slow down and with little room for recuperation. We will have a nice, tough race.”
No Dutch championship, but a speedy recovery
Also Marianne Vos explored the course of the road race. However, she will not be able to start and will support her team mates instead. The broken clavicle which she sustained in the OVO Energy Women’s Tour, keeps her aside. “A real pity I have to pass up the Dutch championship as I was really looking forward to it. Hopefully we get to keep the red-white-blue within the team.”
Due to her fracture, Marianne will be out of circulation for several weeks. At this stage, it is not yet clear when she will return to the peloton. “The first race I might ride is the BeNe Ladies Tour (13-16 July, red.), but it is by no means certain. Everything depends on how quickly the fracture heals. Let’s hope the healing process will continue to go well.”
Second place in Israel
The WM3 riders are also active at the national championships abroad. Rotem Gafinovitz took the silver medal at the time trial in Israel. “It is not the result I had hoped for, but in the end, I have to be pleased with it. I have given everything I had in me, but more than silver was not achievable”, says Rotem. She will start the road race in Israel this coming Saturday.
Anna will, Kasia will not
Anna Plichta travelled to Poland in preparation of the national championship. She will race in both the time trial (Wednesday) and the road race (Saturday). The other Polish rider in our team, Kasia Niewiadoma, will not participate in the national championship this year out of practical considerations. In addition, the route is not suitable for her and she is preparing in Girona (Spain) for the Giro Rosa which starts at the end of June.
“The Polish championships are very important for me. After a period with relatively little races, Gooik-Geraardsbergen-Gooik was my first test. The race confirmed that I was in the right shape which gave me extra motivation and confidence. I could build on this momentum in the OVO Energy Women’s Tour in England. This was a tough and demanding race with long stages but we were able to hold on”, says Anna.
Anna decided, in agreement with her coach, to ease off a bit after the British race in order to start as revitalised as possible at the Polish championships. “During the last couple of days, I mainly rode my time trial bike to train my new position. It feels good and I’m ready for it”, says Anna. “The forecast is rather windy for the time trial (20 kilometres, red.) which will make it tough.” The road race (127 kilometres) is relatively flat. “As a loner and non-sprinter, I will have to try to sprint a surprise.”
Italy
Also in Italy, there will be a battle for the national jerseys. Valentina Scandolara starts on Sunday in the road race in Piemonte (111 kilometres). “We are looking at a challenging route with 2 tough climbs. I have recently trained well at high altitude. Now I can only hope that my legs will keep up on Sunday”, says Valentina. “It will be a difficult race as the best Italian riders will participate. And there are a few strong blocks. Hopefully I can rise to the occasion as the only WM3 rider.”
