The Setmana Ciclista Valenciana is a wrap. The four stages were hard but many important lessons were learned by our youngsters. DS Kelvin Dekker looks back upon a good first race.
The most importannt thing is that we started our season and did our first race kilometres. For most of us it was a good week. I have seen that our sprint train has potential and that the team spirit is really good. In the two hard stages with many altitude metres it was all about survival which is a new experience for all of them. Sunday’s stage was both a mental and physical fight for the five remaining riders because they got dropped from the first group fast due to the work done by Bigla-Katusha. They all handled that situation really well and managed to fight on until the line. I am content and looking forward to the Spring Classics which are completely different. They will benefit from this stage race.
Our youngest rider Julia Borgström did her first kilometres in the pro peloton. She fnished 7th in the young riders classification.
I had fun this week. It was a really good race and a great way to start my first season. It is clear that I have a lot to learn but the team helped me feel safe in all the stages and gave me good tips and support.
I didn’t really know what to expect so I didn’t expect too much. I knew I would feel more at home in the mountain stages but I was sursprised I found my way through the peloton in the sprint stages too.