Israel – Premier Tech Roland takes on La Vuelta Femenina with a strong team ready to fight for results on all terrain.
“Claire Steels is our leader for the general classification and we will support her in the best way we can”, team manager Sergey Klimov explains. “For the flat stages, we have Tamara Dronova who will see what she can do in the sprints and in addition to that, we also have riders like Lizzie Stannard and Anna Kiesenhofer who can try to win from a breakaway.”
Steels is fresh off her maiden victory in ReVolta on Saturday and she’s now eagerly looking forward to La Vuelta Femenina.
“It was great to test the legs in ReVolta and obviously I’m taking some confidence from the win”, Steels tells. “This week we have a lot of challenges ahead, especially towards the end of the week. With the first few stages better suited for the sprinters, I hope to be able to recover a bit and conserve as much energy as possible before the GC battle on the climbs. Lagos de Covadonga is going to be an incredible way to finish La Vuelta and I hope to be able to fight for a strong GC position next Sunday.”
The infamous ascent to Lagos de Covadonga comes on the final day of racing in the seven days stage race. Monday’s opening stage is a 14.5 km long team time trial, followed by two flat stages for the sprinters. Stage four is an undulating one with a climb close to the finish line, while the first uphill finish of the race comes on stage five. Stage six could be a day for a breakaway with its undulating profile before the race concludes on Sunday with the 12.5 km climb to Lagos de Covadonga.
Israel – Premier Tech Roland for La Vuelta Femenina:
Claire Steels (GBR), Anna Kiesenhofer (AUT), Tamara Dronova, Elena Pirrone (ITA), Hannah Buch (GER), Lizzie Stannard (AUS), Sofia Collinelli (ITA).
