Stage one success at Virtual Tour de France for Canyon SRAM

Jess, who raced from her hometown in Australia at 23:00AEST, was pleased to be racing again. “It’s been a little while for all of us, so I think we were all a little nervous going in to today’s stage. It was short and sharp, on the gas most of the time, with very little opportunities to rest,” described Jess. 

“We worked well as a team, rode efficiently and were consistently in the points on the sprints. The team morale was high and everyone was motivated to work for our goals. It was a great team effort and I’m looking forward to racing again!”

Tanja finished sixth on the stage and was delighted with the green jersey classification. “We wanted to race active and be present throughout the whole race. I really wanted to take the green jersey already on Stage 1 because that’s like a dream coming true. Maybe I went a little bit too deep in the first two laps going for the sprints and the QOM. Especially since my teammates raced so well to extend our lead. I could’ve saved a little bit more for the final, since we now miss the yellow jersey by only four points, but it was a great start to the tour for our team,” said Tanja.

Her teammate, Alexis, raced from her home in Athens, USA. “I felt surprisingly well during the race. It was definitely my best Zwift showing to date. I made a few tactical errors that cost me energy, and ultimately took away my chances of bringing in points for the team. Learned my lessons! I’ll bring that new knowledge into the coming stages.”

“I’m really proud of the team in today’s performance. Tanja, Hannah, and Jess are experienced, strong Zwift racers. That strength showed in the team results. We can be pretty happy coming away with the young rider, sprint, and team GC classifications,” added Alexis.

Taking the white jersey lead after stage one, Ludwig, was delighted with her race. “I didn’t expect much because I just finished a tough training camp but I felt really strong and I always enjoy racing as a team. I never really enjoy Zwift starts as you’re on the limit the whole time, but I managed to make it through, and then to be able to collect some points especially at the finish was a nice surprise.”

With the second stage being held tomorrow, Sunday 5 July at 15:02CEST, CANYON//SRAM Racing bring in four new riders for the first mountain stage of the tour: Alena Amialiusik, Hannah Barnes, Ella Harris and Omer Shapira will be the team’s roster.