TOUGH BUT BENEFICIAL – TOUR DE FEMININ IN REVIEW

The CANYON//SRAM zondacrypto Generation squad of Monaliza Araya Chneslasie, Tsige Kahsay Kiros, Joëlle Messemer, Awen Roberts and Weronika Wąsaty has just wrapped up four tough but learning-rich days at Tour de Feminin. The race winds its way between tiny, scenic towns scattered within a hilly pocket of the northern Czech Republic, a stone’s throw from the German border.

After a podium performance in Thursday’s opening team time trial, where the squad took third despite starting with five rather than six riders, the first 120km road stage was a slightly deflating affair, with a five-rider breakaway taking the spoils. On the positive side, Joëlle conquered the 2300m of elevation gain and made the best of the situation, winning the bunch sprint for sixth place.

A reset and ready Generation returned to the start line on Saturday for another hilly route – a recurring theme of the tour – with close to 2000m of vertical gain spread through 123km of looping roads and repeated short climbs.

The team set off as they meant to continue, with Awen cresting the first steep climb in front and taking maximum points in the QOM competition – a jersey she had worn the previous day following their TTT podium.

With 53km to go, she was at it again, representing the team in a 14-rider breakaway alongside Eritrean national champion Monaliza. Although Monaliza was later distanced from the move, Awen pressed on, cresting the final QOM climb with eight others as the group worked smoothly to hold off the sizeable peloton behind. It turned out to be another day for breakaway success, with 21-year-old Awen sprinting to 6th place on a tricky cobbled finish against savvy opposition.

The fourth and final stage may have been only 85km long, but it promised to be a spicy affair, so much so that it earned the honour of being labelled the queen stage. Crammed with 1480m of elevation gain, the route featured longer, more sustained climbs in contrast to the heavily rolling terrain seen in the previous two days. A strong break, headlined by American off-road star Kate Courtney (USA), stole the show for much of the stage. Behind, Tsige and Awen were both very active in attacking and attempting to bridge across, but with 20km remaining, the leaders still held a 50-second advantage over the lively peloton.

Ultimately, the escapees stayed clear with Courtney taking the victory, making it three consecutive stage wins from a breakaway scenario. Awen was the top finisher for CANYON//SRAM zondacrypto Generation, sprinting home from the reduced front group to round out the top 10, 21 seconds behind the runaway victor.

The result secured seventh place overall on the general classification for Awen, with the sizeable gaps – more than four minutes in her case – largely stemming from many riders missing that crucial move on the second stage.

Team Generation Manager Gosia Jasinska gives her rundown on the team’s Tour de Feminin campaign:

“We started with high expectations because the form of our riders is quite high, but the first weak point was that we started with only five because Jule [Märkl] was sick. For that reason, we were happy about the team time trial, because in the end the girls showed that they are very strong, doing a great result with five, and then three riders.

Then came the second stage where we weren’t in the breakaway. This was the biggest mistake of the tour, but in the end also a good lesson for the whole team, because in these kinds of races without radio, the riders need to use their brains more, and you can then better see how they think about what to do. It was a very, very good lesson for them and for us too, as sometimes we need to be more clear and direct with our pre-race guidance.

But I think they learned from this lesson, because for the next stage Awen and Monaliza were in the breakaway of the day. It was nice to see our two riders there, even though Monaliza lost contact. There were some mistakes from Awen’s side in the sprint, but she analysed it by herself; seeing a rider work out by themselves what they must change makes me very proud.

Today, yet another win from the breakaway, and although again without our riders, I spoke with them and they were certainly trying to be there.

In the end, the GC for Awen was good, but I think she deserves more and can be higher, although we are happy despite not coming away with a top result. Firstly, because it was a very well organised race with no crashes, and secondly because of the good lessons for the entire team. They showed they can do more things when they stay together and when they ride as the team I know they can be. I think the most important part of all is still having a very good atmosphere in the difficult moments – we think about mistakes, keep going, and lift each other up.”

Awen also reflects on the demanding four-day race from a rider’s perspective:

“It was a bit of an up and down tour. The first stage went well and as a team we achieved 3rd in the TTT. We were happy with this and it’s always super nice to share a podium with your teammates!

The first road race stage didn’t go as planned. We wanted to achieve so much more but unfortunately we missed the break. On a positive note though, we won the bunch sprint. We then refocused for the next day, and stage 3 in general was much better. There were numerous attacks and we knew it was important to be in all the moves on this day. Monaliza and I were in a break and climb by climb, the break reduced in size. We managed to stay away for a very hectic and fast finish on a descent with cobbles. On the last stage we also wanted to be aggressive, so tried a few attacks but nothing from us could stick.

On a personal note, I have mixed feelings. I’m pleased to achieve 6th on stage 3, and 10th on stage 4, which resulted in 7th on GC. However, missing the opportunity on stage 2 when the decisive break went is frustrating. Regardless, the team showed great collective spirit, and we went into every day giving our best, with our staff as the biggest support.”