The Wiggle Honda Pro Cycling team of Audrey Cordon-Ragot, Jolien D’hoore, Nettie Edmondson, Dani King, Elisa Longo Borghini and Amy Roberts finished in fifth place in today’s World Cup Team Time Trial, in Vårgårda, Sweden. The six black and orange riders completed the 43km course in a time of 54 minutes, 22 seconds, just a minute and 31 seconds slower than winners Rabo-Liv. Defending champions Velocio-SRAM finished in second place, with Boels-Dolmans third.
“I’m not happy with the result, but I’m happy with the time gap,” Wiggle Honda Pro Cycling Director Sportif Egon van Kessel said.
“In 2010 I won this race with Cervélo, but we were very well prepared for this,” the Dutchman continued. “I think with some more preparation we can close the gap. I don’t think we can close the full minute and a half, but maybe one minute.
“We have to work hard on this, but I think it is possible.”
Unfortunately, an overnight fever meant that former Swedish Champion Emilia Fahlin was forced to miss the first race of her home World Cup round. While the team missed the experienced Swede’s considerable power, however, she was replaced by 20-year-old Roberts – a Team Pursuit World Cup winner – who added her technical skills to the team’s performance.
“Emilia was sick, so that’s a big loss for us,” van Kessel explained. “Audrey Cordon is still recovering from a crash in Italy, so she’s not in top shape. So that’s a lot of time we lose. We couldn’t start with the best six riders in their best shape.
“I must say though, that Amy did very, very well today,” he added. “Two-thirds of the race she could work with the team, and she did a good job. She really tried hard, and for a young girl she did a good job. Technically she’s very good, but she’s missing a bit of power; it’s normal, because she’s a young girl, but technically she was really good and I was very happy with her performance.”
After its strong Team Time Trial performance, van Kessel feels confident about Wiggle Honda Pro Cycling’s prospects in Sunday’s Road Race. Although it will be run over a slightly different course to previous years, van Kessel still expects it to be one of the toughest and most unpredictable rounds of the World Cup series.
“The last 11km [of the Team Time Trial] was on the circuit from Sunday,” he said. “It’s hard circuit. It won’t be a bunch sprint of 100 riders; it will be a maximum of 40 riders; it can be a smaller group; it can be a one-rider attack. It’s a hard circuit – it depends a little on the weather, and which way the wind’s blowing – but I am confident for Sunday.
“We have good riders for the race on Sunday, we have several options, and I’m really confident.”
Result
1. Rabo-Liv
2. Velocio-SRAM
3. Boels-Dolmans
4. Bigla Pro Cycling Team
5. Wiggle Honda Pro Cycling
