SD Worx-Protime sprinter completes clean sweep hat-trick
Lorena Wiebes proved once again that she is unrivalled as the fastest woman on two wheels, winning all three stages and the overall at last weekend’s Ford RideLondon Classique.
The event stirred déjà vu among the spectators in London, as the Dutchwoman repeated the feat she achieved in 2022, sealing a hat-trick of victories at the race. On the final day this year, with Buckingham Palace as a backdrop, she lifted three fingers to the sky as she crossed the line, a simple sign of a job well done.
“It’s nice to win on The Mall in central London,” Wiebes said afterwards. “The team acted at a high level this weekend. I am proud to have managed to repeat the hat-trick of 2022.”
Wiebes’s bunch sprint victories felt more dominant this time compared to two years ago. On stage one in Colchester, she sat up metres before the line, having kicked three bike lengths ahead of her rivals. The sight stunned her team manager, Lars Boom. “This was a rock-solid sprint by Lorena,” he said.
The Dutchwoman, a three-time Tour de France Femmes stage winner, then did the same in Maldon on day two. Again, she followed the wheel of her world champion team-mate Lotte Kopecky, before riding away to victory. The plan worked seamlessly on The Mall on the final stage, too.
“I had my sights set on the hat-trick,” Wiebes said post-race in London. The 25-year-old had made no secret of the ambition in the days before, talking about it openly after her two victories in Essex. “It is always difficult to repeat performances and a hat-trick is even more difficult to achieve. It helps when you have such strong team-mates around you. I want to thank them for everything they have done for me.”
Kopecky, Wiebes’s rainbow-jerseyclad lead-out woman, finished third overall at the race, behind sprinter Charlotte Kool (DSM-Firmenich PostNL). “It was a collectively strong performance from the team,” the world champion said. “What I especially like is how we can trust each other. That is the key to success. Sometimes your instinct says otherwise, but you should always trust and follow your lead-out. By drawing confidence from each other, you can finish it off in such hectic sprints.��
