We finished the final of Vuelta a Burgos with Kasia Niewiadoma in eleventh place on the stage and tenth in the general classification. Teammate Mikayla Harvey finished third in the youth classification in the Women’s World Tour four-day stage race.

Kasia said, “The final today was of course really hard. There were a lot of attacks at the start of the race which kept the pace high, and then a large group rolled away which had three riders for us with was great. We hit the final climb and where the last three kilometres were super steep was where I lost my legs. I didn’t feel great and I had some issues with my back that blocked me from pushing hard. It was a nice race to make you realise how much work needs to be done before Olympic Games in order to fight for a medal. The climb in Tokyo won’t be as steep but the effort will be longer so today was a good experience to have.”

“I really enjoyed the tour overall with my teammates. We had such a nice vibe within the team and were all so motivated and ready to fight. We didn’t finish on the podium, at the end of the tour, but we tried and others were just stronger this time.”

Kasia now takes a short recovery before an altitude training camp.

“Having a proper rest after the spring classics and now these two races has been ideal. My training routine has shifted from the short punchy efforts of sprint to the long 20 to 30 minute efforts. Now it’s the time for me to go into the mountains at altitude and spend some time preparing for my final two races before Olympic Games,” added Kasia.

Each CANYON//SRAM Racing rider provides a small summary of their tour below.

Mikayla Harvey

“The team was really strong and we worked well together during the tour. I really enjoyed racing with my teammates and the team spirit was really inspiring! I am happy with my progression, however I am motivated to improve my power and climbing to help more in the final.”

“My next race will be Tour de Suisse which I am really excited for as we’ll go there to race hard and aggressively. It is a home race for Elise so I hope we can do something special. I plan a block of altitude training afterwards. I have a lot more energy and I am excited to get some nice hard training done in my build up for the Giro Rosa in July.”

Elise Chabbey

Elise summed up her tour and her upcoming program. “We had a great team and we were committed to pushing each other to give their best. I raced in an aggressive way and I have nothing to regret. We can be proud of our three podiums at a World Tour race.”

“I will go now for altitude training before racing national championships, and then going back to altitude.”

Alice Barnes

Alice explained the positives from her Vuelta a Burgos race. “I’m happy that with these recent Spanish races including Burgos. I’ve shown that I’m climbing better than I ever have been. I was especially happy with the sprint on stage two, that the team had the trust in me and to win the bunch sprint for second. I will go home now, recover and build up for Lotto Belgium Tour at the end of June.”

Omer Shapira

Omer: “Personally for the tour I had a lot of ups and downs. To be at the top level requires full focus to be there for every single critical moment. I’m there more and more often, but sometimes I’m not and this is the down side. I could set a high tempo on the climbs when the team needed it in the first three stages which was pleasing. I had some stomach issues yesterday and although I went deep I couldn’t help Elise in the breakaway before the final climb today which was disappointing.”

“After a heavy block of racing—15 races in 24 days—I will now take some recovery time and look forward to an altitude camp and the next races.”

Hannah Barnes

Hannah: “After a spring that wasn’t ideal with some injuries it was good to have a strong four days here and help contribute to the results. I can go home tired and satisfied. I am happy that all the work and rehabilitation I’ve been doing is helping and I can continue with it and look forward to the next races with some positivity.”

“As a whole, the team did its best and we were all working hard to help whenever we could to bring a result. I’ll spend some time now at home and then I will aim to prepare for the Giro Rosa in July.”