Chloé Dygert (Canyon-SRAM zondacrypto) sprinted to fifth place on stage 4 of the Tour de France Femmes. However, the 28-year-old made clear after the stage that she wasn’t in France for personal results but as a domestique for defending champion Kasia Niewiadoma-Phinney.
“This whole race, we’re here to support Kasia and make sure she stays safe. At the end of the day, we’re going to do everything for her over anything else,” Dygert explained about her role.
She went on to praise Niewiadoma-Phinney’s leadership and the team atmosphere.
“Kasia is great. There’s a good vibe on and off the bike, and we really enjoy each other. We all really get along, winning last year was super great, and Kasia brings such a good leadership vibe to the team. We really appreciate that. She’s a great friend and great teammate,” she said.
Nonetheless, Dygert was in the mix in Poitiers, led out by Soraya Paladin. After being the first to open the sprint, the US rider eventually finished fifth. Originally, though, she rider was not even supposed to go for a result.
“We had a plan to sprint with Aga [Skalniak-Sójka]. But she was not feeling so well, and we switched to me. I knew that, potentially, I could sprint, but that won’t stop me from doing my job at the beginning.
"I was doing a lot of work, a lot of teammate stuff at the beginning, and halfway through we had to change the plan. I went into recovery mode so I could be ready for the sprint,” Dygert said.
While supporting her teammate, Dygert was preparing for her own goals later in the year, with the UCI Road World Championships in Rwanda in September the big highlight.
“I’m using this Tour as really good training for the Worlds. It’s all a good way for me to get training in. It’s also a mindset of knowing the pressure is completely off. I’m here for Kasia to do what she needs. We’re all here for that goal,” Dygert reiterated.
In Poitiers, Dygert put her long-term plans to the side and focused on the sprint finish.
“It was my first time going against the best in, probably, a year or two. I was just trying to get my sprinter legs, be confident in the bunch, and use my teammates as best I could. Soraya did an amazing pull for me, and I just tried to use that and hold on for dear life,” she said.
After the stage, Dygert analysed her performance and used it as a learning experience.
“My initial thought was that I should have stayed on the barriers. I would have closed it off to the sprinters. But that’s how it goes, right? I’m just learning and then trying to get better,” she finished.
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