When Demi Vollering (SD Worx-Protime) made her unsuccessful cost for general glory on the Tour de France Femmes up the Col du Glandon, it wasn’t yellow jersey clad Kasia Niewiadoma (Canyon-SRAM) that was ready to answer her pivotal assault, or any of the opposite pre-race GC favourites, however Pauliena Rooijakkers.
Rooijakkers snapped onto her compatriot’s wheel 2.4km from the crest of the hors categorie climb, and held onto it for almost the entire remaining 60km, taking an unbelievable second place up Alpe d’Huez behind Vollering that moved her into third general and accomplished a ‘dream’ week for Fenix-Deceuninck.
The consequence might have been a shock for a lot of, together with Rooijakkers, however sports activities director Michel Cornelisse at all times saved the religion.
“These climbs [Col du Glandon and Alpe d’Huez] are becoming Pauliena very properly, she confirmed already on the Giro, on the Blockhaus twice, that these climbs are superb for her,” the sports activities director instructed Cyclingnews after the penultimate stage to Le Grand-Bornand.
The 31-year-old Dutch rider headed into the ultimate stage in seventh general, nevertheless, she wasn’t anticipated to land herself on the general podium, along with her earlier finest GC outcomes coming ultimately month’s Giro d’Italia Girls with fourth and the 2022 Itzulia Girls, the place she was second to Vollering.
However with the hyper-aggressive Belgian crew exhibiting their blue jerseys prominently within the 2024 Tour de France Femmes, as they did final 12 months, and Rooijakkers was spurred on to the climbing efficiency of her life.
“We had a giant objective of the highest 5, so to be on the rostrum we might be actually joyful as a crew that we achieved that,” mentioned Rooijakkers after the ultimate stage.
She added third place general to a Puck Pieterse stage win and the 22-year-old’s victory in one of the best younger rider’s classification.
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“It was wonderful, should you instructed us this earlier than the Tour de France, it’s a widely known story however third within the general, successful a stage, successful the white jersey and being so sturdy within the race, we might not consider it. It’s a dream for us,” Cornelisse instructed Cyclingnews on the crew bus, referring to the beautiful debut of Pieterse too.
Puck Pieterse joined her teammate Rooijakkers on the ultimate podium as she claimed the white jersey of the youth classification (Picture credit score: Getty Photographs)
Rooijakkers performed the tactical battle all through the ultimate having stayed with Vollering over Glandon, throughout the valley and up virtually the entire 13.8km Alpe d’Huez climb. Nevertheless, an all-out descent additionally noticed the Fenix-Deceuninck rider placed on the restrict within the valley, unable and unauthorised to assist Vollering as a lot as she might have.
“No, from the automotive they mentioned to sit down in her wheel however I used to be additionally struggling in her wheel. I attempted to assault however there was not quite a bit in my legs anymore so I used to be joyful to stay on,” mentioned Rooijakkers who made a late transfer for glory after they reached the ski resort.
“That’s why I used to be sitting in her wheel quite a bit as a result of I didn’t wish to blow myself up a bit and I needed to play the sport. She was preventing actually for yellow and I used to be simply holding on, in any other case, I’d perhaps park myself on Alpe d’Huez and I didn’t wish to let that occur.”
In her emotional post-race convention, Vollering revealed the wrestle she had when Rooijakkers stopped serving to her as a result of crew orders. However Fenix-Deceuninck additionally mentioned that Vollering’s downhill push off of Glandon didn’t play into her favour.
“The issue was that Demi Vollering went full gasoline within the downhill and he or she killed Pauliena and likewise the woman from Arkea [Cavallard],” mentioned Cornelisse.
“If she goes just a little bit slower then we might have gone with three within the valley and labored collectively. Then I might have mentioned ‘OK assist her’ but when she’s dropped, then now we have nothing, so it was perhaps just a little mistake from Demi that she went full gasoline and we had no different selection however to observe as a result of if we get dropped then we aren’t on the rostrum.”
Pauliena Rooijakkers (Fenix Deceuninck) on the general Tour de France Femmes podium in third alongside Kasia Niewiadoma (Canyon-SRAM) in yellow and Demi Vollering (SD Worx-Protime) in second (Picture credit score: Getty Photographs)
Cornelisse had excessive reward for crew boss Phillip Roodhooft for his half in making certain the lads’s Alpecin-Deceuninck and Fenix-Deceuninck groups have grew to become extra equal. A two-week altitude camp within the Alps laid the foundations for the squad’s beautiful week of performances.
“If you happen to see this crew, coming from two years in the past, that man with the blue shirt is the large boss,” Cornelisse mentioned as he identified Roodhooft by the bus.
“He believes within the crew, he invests quite a bit within the crew, as a result of we spent 14 days in La Plagne for the coaching camp and that’s not low-cost however the large boss believes in it and we’re very grateful for that.”
“This crew is de facto skilled, even doing the altitude camp along with the meals and all of the little issues we work on,” concurred Rooijakkers who joined from Canyon-SRAM after 2023. “There’s no separation with the lads’s and the ladies’s groups, they’re each equal.
“So we take the good things from them and so they additionally take the good things from us and with the coaches, all the things, it’s all equal and I feel that makes a extremely large distinction and likewise the assumption from this crew helps quite a bit.”
Yara Kastelijn lit the fireplace for Fenix-Deceuninck on the Tour final 12 months with a magic solo win into Rodez. This season, that flame is barely burning brighter by means of younger trailblazer Pieterse – who gained into Liège on stage 4 and took eleventh general – and Rooijakkers, the shock podium bundle who has discovered her finest legs into her 30s.
Fenix-Deceuninck can be again with ambition once more in 2025, and Cornelisse believes his two stars from this 12 months might play out the identical function for a while.
“You see how joyful the ladies are and also you see they’re solely getting higher and higher as a result of now we have Pauliena and Puck, so for subsequent 12 months we come again and we attempt for extra.”
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