Lorena Wiebes on comeback to her cyclocross roots: "In the end I probably spent more time on the ground than on the bike"

Lorena Wiebes in the cross? Yes! Almost every year the top sprinter starts in the Nacht van Woerden and this year she was also present. She did not compete for the win, but competed well in the sub-top. In de Leiderstrui took this chance to interview the Dutch speedster.

Wiebes is not just a road rider in the field. In fact, she started out in the mud before switching to the road. "In the youth categories I only started with cyclo-cross, but I was not good at it at all. It was only with the newcomers that I made the switch to the road."

In Woerden she also faces the same problem as when she was younger: no matter how fast she can cycle, she still falls short in technical areas. "It didn't help that I had to start at the back, but I actually came to the front quite quickly. Fortunately, I have ridden this bike many times in the late summer during gravel races. However, while racing here I thought: oops, I wish I had done some cross-training beforehand!"

Wiebes cannot contain her laughter for a moment. Without having even one cyclo-cross training in her legs, she 'briefly' took part in a competition. "I noticed that I had difficulty with that. In the end I probably spent more time on the ground than on the bike. How many times exactly have I fallen? Phew, too often! It might just be possible to count it on one hand, haha!" After riding close to the top ten for a long time, Wiebes was ultimately classified 33rd.