The Tour of Flanders runner-up talks lost bikes, altitude training and strength workouts
Where and how have you been training for this year’s Classics?
I have taken a different approach to previous years. With the grow th of women’s cycling, we need to do more and more with every passing year.
Whereas before I would usually focus on training at home, training camps with my team and then racing, this year I haven’t done many races and instead have gone to altitude camps. At the moment [in late March] I’m in Tenerife for three weeks. Last year I learnt that, without altitude training, you can be only as good as fourth or fifth place. Realising this is a very important factor in being able to fight at the end in the finale.
You were fourth at Strade Bianche – had you trained specifically for gravel?
Unfortunately, I had an interrupted period after winning the gravel Worlds [in October]. On a group gravel ride where ever yone was going hard and I was super-tired, I touched one of the wheels I was following and hit a rock – it took some time to get a replacement wheel. Then we went to California and my bike went missing for over two weeks and actually arrived the day before I left for a road training camp. So I didn’t get the chance to do much gravel riding.
What set-up did you use for Strade Bianche?
I used the Canyon Ultimate with a 36 [tooth sprocket] on the back, which was the first time I used that [gearing]. After Het Nieuwsblad, where I used a 28, I felt like my rpm were so low, and Lotte Kopecky came past me with this amazing cadence. It’s impossible to react when you’re stuck at a slower cadence. It’s kind of humiliating for me to admit that it was the first time I tried a 36. At the age of 30, you k now, I really should have done that earlier!
How do you fuel for a Classic?
For long races, especially when I k now that it’s super hectic, fighting for position all the time, I stash gels and bars all over myself – not only in the pockets. It’s so hard to get a hand into a pocket and take time to eat something. Usually I put two or three gels under my shorts or into the bra, so they ’re very easy to reach. In the first part of the race, I try to have some solids – three bars or rice cakes. It’s just about trying to put as much into your body as possible; I try to hit 100g of carbohydrate every hour.
Do you think strength training is necessary for all riders?
