Wiggle Honda Pro Cycling’s Linda Villumsen moved up to fifth overall after her sixth place in the stage four time trial of the Thüringen-Rundfahrt, in Gera, eastern Germany. The New Zealand time trial champion completed the windswept 21km course in a time of 29 minutes, 59 seconds, to finish just one minute and seven seconds behind stage winner Shara Gillow (Orica-AIS).
“Linda’s a little bit disappointed that she didn’t perform a little bit better, but she looked good to me, and she gave it one hundred percent,” said Wiggle Honda Pro Cycling directeur sportif Simon Cope. “She would have preferred to be a little bit higher up, but she’s being a bit over-critical of herself. She’s only just started back racing, and the thing with time trialling is that you have to ride a few to get your rhythm.”
“She’s getting better each race, isn’t she,” he added. “She’s definitely on the way up. So I think that was a pretty good ride today.”
Ellen van Dijk (Specialized-lululemon) finished in second place, 35 seconds behind Gillow, with race leader Emma Johansson (Orica-AIS) in third, at 39 seconds. This was enough for the Swedish rider to hold on to the yellow jersey, while Villumsen is just 1’16” behind in fifth place.
Aside from the New Zealander’s strong ride, her compatriot and Wiggle Honda Pro Cycling teammate Emily Collins finished in 15th place, and is now second in the young rider classification. Former German champion Charlotte Becker was 19th, while newly crowned British champion Joanna Rowsell finished in 29th place, having been one of the fastest of the early starters.
“Emily’s ride was very good,” said Cope. “That was quite impressive actually. Charlotte had a bit of a mechanical early on in the ride, so I think that definitely put her off her stride.”
“Jo’s just had a two-week layoff, having her tonsils out, so that was pretty good too,” he added.
Result
1. Shara Gillow (Orica-AIS)
2. Ellen van Dijk (Specialized-lululemon)
3. Emma Johansson (Orica-AIS)
6. Linda Villumsen (Wiggle Honda Pro Cycling)
