Continuing her run of podiums, CANYON//SRAM Racing’s Elena Cecchini took second in the bunch sprint on the final stage of Setmana Ciclista Valenciana. After leading through the final corner with 100m to go, Lotta Lepistö (TSF) took the lead from Cecchini just metres before the line. The general classification was won by Clara Koppenburg (WNT). Read the reactions from each of the riders below:

Elena Cecchini

“Winning is always better but we rode well and I have no regrets about today’s stage: Lepistö was just faster. I’m sorry, because I wanted to reward my teammates’ hard work with a win, but I’m confident it will come soon.”

“This tour has been a good start to the season for me. We had good weather, hard days and a lot race rhythm on the legs. As a team we improved day by day, trying to overcome a few mistakes we made. It’s been a good starting point, especially in tactics, ahead of the upcoming spring classics.”

Alena Amialiusik

“The overall tour was good for me, especially as I missed a week’s training just prior due to sickness. My plan was to use the tour to get back into ‘race-form’ and to help the team as much as possible.”

“We worked well together. Being the first tour, and a few new faces, we made some mistakes but at the same time we were quick to turn that around. It’s a nice group of experienced riders and young stars and it’s great to see how strong the young riders were this week.”

Hannah Ludwig

“The tour was really intense for me. The distances are much longer than what I was used to last year (racing in the junior category). It’s also a very different role that I’m playing, now being the helper, but I really enjoyed that focus. Riding with these girls is amazing! I’m very proud of Elena with two podiums!”

Christa Riffel

“I would say that the tour was ‘okay’ for me. I could help the team, but more so in the early parts of the races. I’ve got some things to work on, but I know what they are and I’m looking forward to improving those.”

“With two podiums the team can be happy, but there’s even more hunger now for the win.”

Omer Shapira

“Overall I’ve had a fun tour. It was my first experience racing with CANYON//SRAM Racing and these group of riders. I’ve been impressed how things went and the commitment from everybody.”

“As a team, we wanted things to go better. Two great podiums from Elena getting second and third, but we wanted, (and still want), to achieve even more as a team. I have to say that even without the win, I was still impressed with the processes that happened at the end of each stage.”

“I personally felt okay physically, but I have a lot to learn to be more helpful to my teammates. I definitely have the privilege to learn this from the best! The riders, the staff, I’m appreciating every moment within this team and group of people!”

Tiffany Cromwell

“It’s been a solid four days of racing. I think the race served its purpose for me. It was nice to go in with no real pressure to get a result, but at the same time use it to get some hard racing in the legs and be able to play a strong supportive role for my teammates and help guide them during the race.”

“I feel like I’m in a good place heading into the classics. My fitness is strong and I had some good power on the short punchy climbs. That said, it also showed me that I still have some work to do on the longer climbs.”

“As a team, we had our better days and our not so great days. With the mix of young riders and experience it was always going to be a balance of what we could do together. I think the young riders particularly Hannah (Ludwig) and Christa (Riffel) certainly stepped up again and rode really well supporting our leaders each day.”

“I would say that our second stage was our best day as an entire team where we executed our plan and did a really good lead out in the final. Overall we have a lot to take out of the tour as we head into the important part of the season. The classics!”

Hannah Barnes

“It was a good tour for the team to start the season with. It took us a couple of days to get into the swing of things but once we did it was really good. The feeling within the team is good and we are motivated going into the next month of racing.”

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