Lorena Wiebes shows all-round ability to win Simac Ladies Tour overall
Dutch rider proves her skill on climbs and time trial ahead of move to SD Worx.
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Lorena Wiebes (Team DSM) showed off more than just her sprinting ability to win the overall classification of the Simac Ladies Tour, showing hardly any weakness over a varied six days of racing.
Wiebes won the first two stages of the race before helping teammate Charlotte Kool to victory on stage 3. However, the real test came on stage 4 – a challenging stage around the Limburg hills of the Amstel Gold Race, but Wiebes could not be shaken on the climbs, finishing second behind solo winner Riejanne Markus (Jumbo Visma).
She then put in a strong time trial performance on stage 5, finishing fifth behind winner Audrey Cordon-Ragot to extend her time in the yellow leader’s jersey.
Over the race’s six stages, Wiebes never finished outside the top-five, an incomparable run of consistency in the Netherlands.
Also read: Simac Ladies Tour: Lorena Wiebes secures overall as Mischa Bredewold kicks clear for final stage
Though a talented and prolific sprinter, often pegged as one of the only “pure” sprinters in the peloton, this race proved how Wiebes’ strengths extend much further than just the flat, fast finishes.
Already dominant in the sprints – she has won 19 times this season alone – the 23-year-old is developing into a force to be reckoned with on tough, classics-style terrain too, not to mention a better time trialist than much of the peloton.
Your @ladiestour winner – @lorenawiebes! 💐🏆#KeepChallenging #SLT2022 pic.twitter.com/NwJXTSGllZ
— Team DSM (@TeamDSM) September 4, 2022
With a move to SD Worx confirmed for 2023, Wiebes’ ever-growing realm of talents will bolster the already-strong team into a squad that has the talent to win practically every race on the calendar.
SD Worx already has a classics-suited all-rounder in the form of Tour of Flanders winner Lotte Kopecky, so one challenge for the team will be how it balances the interests of the Belgian and the Dutch rider.
Perhaps what the team has been lacking is a top-flight sprinter, a role that Wiebes certainly fulfills, though she will surely be hoping to be given a chance on harder days and races, too.
As well as Wiebes, SD Worx has also signed Simac Ladies Tour stage 6 winner Mischa Bredewold to its roster in 2023, one of a pair of riders moving to the team from Parkhotel Valkenburg.
