Emma Pooley did not give up her World Cup leader’s jersey without a fight as the team rode a strong Tour of Flanders, finishing with two in the top-ten.
Lucy, Iris and Trine all did a great job in protecting our World Cup leader in the beginning of the race until the Oude Kwaremont climb,” said director sportif Theo Maucher.
“Emma could save energy for the later climbs in the race because she doesn’t have the ideal body-type for the cobbled sections — and this was her first time back since three years ago which was a horrible trip for her.”
“Emma closed a lot of gaps for Noemi Cantele but Noemi attacked too early and was brought back, with the counterattacks of Van Vleuten bringing the victory.”
“I think we raced well as a team on an extremely tough course and were unlucky today,” said Pooley.
“Due to the crashes in the peloton we were outnumbered in the front group. That’s just the way it is sometimes in races.”
“Noemi was really strong but we were both closely marked in the group so none of our efforts to get away quite paid off. But I’m still pleased with the way the team raced and I think we made the best of our opportunities.”
“Personally, I was just relieved to survive the cobbles, more or less!”
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