Having taken a stage victory at last year’s edition, Lorena Wiebes is keen to get her season under way at the UAE Tour Women on Thursday. The SD Worx - Protime sprinter won stage 2 of the four-day stage race in 2023 and held the leader’s jersey for a stage, but was ultimately outmatched in the sprints throughout the race by Charlotte Kool, who beat her on two occasions.
“This race is another good test for our leadout” said Wiebes in an interview with WielerFlits ahead of the race, “compared to the last edition, our train is a lot stronger. I want to show that I am there again by taking a victory”.
The Dutch rider is also feeling less pressure going into this year’s race after a good period of training over the winter, as she stated that “I am less nervous than last year. Then I came here as an unbeaten sprinter, while last season I was beaten a few times. For some reason I feel less pressure because of that. I know I did everything I could in my winter training, but it's always exciting to see how that then turns out in races”.
On whether she is looking to move away from sprinting to become a more versatile rider, Wiebes said “sprinting remains incredibly important to me, especially towards the Olympics, which are a big goal for me. It's important to find a balance between getting better uphill on the one hand and continuing to sprint well on the other. That's another reason why the UAE Tour is a good indicator to see how I'm doing”.
Lorena Wiebes starts her season at the UAE Tour full of ambition "We will know immediately where we stand" Team SD Worx-Protime starts the season in the UAE Tour with Lorena Wiebes, Lotte Kopecky, Barbara Guarischi, Femke Markus & Femke Gerritse. The 2023 Best WorldTeam is…
