CANYON//SRAM Racing finished a remarkable UAE Tour Women today, with Neve Bradbury taking home second place in the final general classification. Bradbury also won Best Young Rider and moved into the leader jersey in both the Elite and U23 Women World Tour classifications. Ricarda Bauernfeind took tenth place overall, and Agnieszka Skalniak-Sójka sprinted to eighth place in the final stage. CANYON//SRAM Racing won the best team classification and is now leading the 2024 Women’s World Tour rankings.

A four-rider breakaway controlled the final 105km stage, but as the kilometres to the finish line ticked down, the needle swung in favour of the leaders. Amber Kraak (FDJ) attacked her breakaway companions with five kilometres remaining and went solo to hold off the chasing peloton by a matter of metres in a dramatic finish. Agnieszka had her best sprint of the tour after twice finishing just outside the top ten to take eighth place today in Abu Dhabi Breakwater, with Neve finishing safely in the bunch.

RIDER REACTIONS:

Neve Bradbury: “It’s really special to get second on the general classification and win the best young rider jersey. I knew that I had good legs coming to the tour but to finish it off and get on the GC podium is an achievement. I’m happy I can get a result for the team after all of my teammates’ work and performance throughout the tour and the fact we’ve been riding well together. This is great for my confidence and ours as a team.”

“After winning Zwift Academy in 2020, I leapt into the pro peloton, and it’s been quite a journey over the last four years. I’m sitting here now in the UCI World Tour leader’s jersey, and I couldn’t be more stoked. It’s a really special feeling to be leading the UCI World Tour. I didn’t realise I was so close until after yesterday. I didn’t think coming into this tour that it was something I would be coming away with. I was just focused on doing the best I could each day, so I feel like this is a bonus.”

“We were confident after yesterday’s race that we could bring home these results, but we also knew we had to finish today safely, so we kept our focus on the stage.”

“So far, our team has had a strong start to the season, including off-road with Zoe (Bäckstedt) winning the cyclo-cross world champs and what our team could do in the races in Australia. It’s a solid start that we can continue building on into the season.”

Agnieszka Skalniak-Sójka: “After two times getting sixteenth place, I’m really happy to get a top ten on the last stage today. It’s difficult to sprint against sprinters with such a high top speed. I improved each day, and I always had a lot of support from my teammates and Tiffany, the last rider, leaving me in the best position.”

“I’m proud of how Neve and Ricarda climbed yesterday and how our young squad was motivated to race. We had a great Sport Director, Adam (Szabó), who gave us a lot of confidence each day and supported us. I think we did a lot of good steps that will help us in the next part of the season.”

Ricarda Bauernfeind: “We had great teamwork and morale during the tour. We improved each day, and everyone was committed to the goals. Having an experienced rider like Tiffany with us who took leadership and especially guided us through the key race situations each day was helpful.”

“Personally, I was a bit disappointed after yesterday’s queen stage, but I learned many things from the climb, and overall, this stage race gave me more experience in flat stages and dealing with the wind. That will be helpful for the rest of the season. A top ten in GC for me is a good starting point.”

“After yesterday’s stage, we talked in our race meeting and recognised how many jerseys Neve could win—white, blue, purple! It was definitely a big motivation boost for today’s stage. We enjoyed racing together with such a great team.”

NEXT RACES:

CANYON//SRAM Racing continue the stage races with Setmana Ciclista Volta Feminina de la Comunitat Valenciana from 15 to 18 February. The team’s roster for the four-day stage race will be Elise Chabbey, Selam Gerefiel, Anastasiya Kolesava, Alex Morrice, Antonia Niedermaier, and Kasia Niewiadoma.

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