Even two-time individual time trial World Champion, Chloé Dygert (Canyon-SRAM) wasn’t strong enough to deny Demi Vollering (SD Worx-Protime) a win in the short 6.3km Rotterdam race against the clock on stage 3 of the Tour de France Femmes.
After a rocky season undone by crashes, injuries and illness, Dygert, amazingly, donned the rainbow stripes for the first time this season during the seven-and-a-half-minute effort. She set the equal fastest time at the intermediate time check past the Erasmusbrug bridge, before losing five seconds to Vollering in the 2.4km run to the line and with it the stage.
While Dygert said she ‘just didn’t have a good day’, she credited the Dutch GC star for her strength, after Vollering managed an average speed of 50.95kph on the second stage of a hectic double race day.
“It’s definitely a bummer not to stand on the top stop but I’m just thankful to be here. It’s my first Tour and I'm just very blessed. This is God’s plan and I’m just trusting it,” Dygert told reporters including Cyclingnews at the Canyon-SRAM team bus as she warmed down.
“It was very fast, very bumpy. Normally, I would say a short course was for me but, you know, I just didn't have a good day today so that’s how it goes.
“They [SD Worx] just had a better day. She’s just very strong so big props to Demi [Vollering].”
After digesting the disappointment of not winning the only time trial stage at the Tour, Dygert arrived at the team bus and shared a long embrace and debrief with Canyon-SRAM team boss Ronny Lauke, quickly turning focus to the rest of the Tour and her bigger approaching goal at the Zurich World Championships ITT on September 22.
“Ronny has so much experience in the sport and he’s a major reason why I picked Canyon-SRAM,” said Dygert.
“Sometimes a rider just needs to shut up and listen and I’m very thankful for the wise words Ronny had to say and I’m gonna take those in, go with it and continue on and finish the Tour heading into the main goals of the season.
“I’m just here to do the best I can and work my way up to World Championships. I’m looking forward to the rest of the week and trying to get all the fitness I can.”
Dygert also confirmed that the remaining five stages will now be about aiding the German squad’s GC hopes Kasia Niewiadoma and Neve Bradbury, who after the time trial sit 30 and 51 seconds respectively off of Vollering’s lead with work to do.
“We’ll take it day by day but for sure Kasia and Neve are the goal riders for us this week so we’re going to do everything we can to get them to the finish line first,” she said, agreeing with sentiments made earlier in the week by Niewiadoma, that Canyon are not here to settle for the podium as they’ve managed in the previous two editions, but for the maillot jaune.
