Audrey Cordon-Ragot: "I am pretty surprised I won, I think it’s a good reward for my work this whole season"

Audrey Cordon-Ragot took her first victory in Simac Ladies Tour on Saturday. The rider completed the race in just 25 minutes and 15 seconds, a dramatic lead of three seconds over previous stage winner Riejanne Markus.

“I knew it was an important day for the GC but I am pretty surprised I won,” said Cordon-Ragot. She believed in herself and was able to achieve a victory for her team. “I had good pacing plan, like I have had since the beginning of the season, and when I have a time trial, we are working on it a few days before.”

She was not the fastest rider in the intermediate sprint but picked up the pace in the second half of the route which was more than enough to beat the record.“I was surprised to be best time in the first intermediate time because I didn’t start full gas, I started pretty conservatively. But then I could hang on to the end so I am really really happy. I think it’s a good reward for my work this whole season, and how focused I have been on the time trial,” said Cordon-Ragot.

The tour is supposed to end with the sixth and final stage on Sunday and she is prepared to give her best. “Let’s see tomorrow how I recover from today. Without being negative, I think I am in a good place and I won’t be in shame to finish second behind Wiebes because she is really outstanding at the moment. I just want to enjoy today before thinking of tomorrow,” concluded Cordon-Ragot. Her victory has pushed her to second position in GC, just 6 seconds behind overall leader Lorena Wiebes.