Another Spanish week awaits Liv Racing. Tuesday the team will start in the one-day-race Durango-Durango Emakumeen Saria (115 kilometres), followed by the Vuelta a Burgos Feminas, a four-day-stage race, on Thursday. Liv Racing starts with Sabrina Stultiens, Pauliena Rooijakkers, Sofia Bertizzolo, Marta Jaskulska and Soraya Paladin.
Durango-Durango Emakumeen Saria will be held on Tuesday afternoon (3pm CEST). After four times on the same lap, which includes a moderate climb, there is a final loop with a mountain to be climbed from both sides. The descent, to be covered twice, leads to the finish.
“Pauliena Rooijakkers has put this race high on her list, she wants to take a good result here. And why not? She is in good shape. Her positioning skills, which she sometimes finds difficult, are improving all the time. I expect that she can keep up with the favourites for a long time. Pauliena gets the support of the other riders”, says sports director Lars Boom.
In the Vuelta a Burgos Feminas (Thursday to Sunday) the eyes of Liv Racing are again focused on Pauliena Rooijakkers. There is a lot of climbing in this four-day-race, especially on the first and last day.
“Last Sunday we did a recon of the first stage, with an uphill finish. We certainly don’t want to be taken by surprise. The climb starts steep, then it quickly becomes more moderate. The final day also finishes uphill. That climb is even harder”, according to Lars Boom.
“In between, there are two relatively flat stages. There we will try with Sofia Bertizzolo to take a nice result. Overall, we try to ride a good general classification with Pauliena Rooijakkers. She can handle the climbing the best, we have no doubt about her. I expect the final stage to be decisive for the classification. But we also have to be alert in the other stages. On the open stretches it can sometimes be quite windy.”
Photo credits: Cor Vos