SD Worx's spring campaign could not have gone any better, with a remarkable 33 wins - and 18 of those in a row - throughout the Classics and into the early-season stage racing.
After rest and high-altitude training camps in Brides-les-Bains, the team's riders are now primed for another successful block that begins at the Tour de Suisse, June 17-20, and into the Giro d'Italia Donne, Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift and Glasgow World Championships.
"If you look at our results, I can really only conclude myself that it is ridiculously good. We have had a bizarrely good spring. We never expected these performances ourselves," said the team's manager Danny Stam.
"I can't exactly pinpoint a reason for this success either. We had a good preparation for the season in Spain, where we again worked a bit harder than in previous years. Then we were quickly successful and managed to keep this flow in the team. Everyone drives each other to a higher level this way."
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A handful of the team's successes included Lotte Kopecky's wins at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, Tour of Flanders and Thüringen Ladies Tour, Lorena Wiebes' win at Ronde van Drenthe, Marlen Reusser's wins at Gent-Wevelgem and overall title at Itzulia Women, and Demi Vollering's triple wins during the Ardennes Classics and then overall win at Vuelta a Burgos.
"Of course, we are immensely proud of it. However, we also know that this series is going to stop somewhere. Every race you start again at zero. In this Tour de Suisse, we are starting a new series in this season. Most riders return from an altitude training camp or a rest period. Then again, you have to wait and see how everyone is doing," Stam said.
Stam confirmed that Reusser and Vollering will lead the team at the Tour de Suisse, and that the event has a special significance to each rider.
For Reusser, the team said, it is the stage race of her home country, and stage 2's 25.7-kilometre time trial offers her a great opportunity. Vollering lives in Switzerland, and she also has a special feeling for this stage race as she prepares for the Tour de France Femmes.
"The time trial to Abtwill is definitely in [Reusser's] favour," Stam said. "If Marlen rides strongly there, she can ride a good classification. However, we are also at the start here with Demi Vollering. She is returning to competition from a good three-week training camp with the team in Brides-les-Bains. Only after the time trial will we see how we will handle the ambitions for the general classifications."
SD Worx's team will also include Niamh Fisher-Black, Blanka Vas, Marie Schreiber and Elena Cecchini. Fisher-Black, who crashed at La Vuelta Femenina and Itzulia Women, will target the Giro d'Italia next.
"She is now doing well again. She will soon be given a free role in the Giro d'Italia Donne to ride a strong classification," Stam said, also outlining the riders' roles in the upcoming races.
"Blanka Vas made a strong impression in Spain. After a difficult year in 2022, she is now seen among the best in the peloton. She had to work a few times for others on the team; otherwise, she would have posted stronger results herself.
"Marie Schreiber is a pleasant surprise. We have contracted her mainly for cyclo-cross, but she also appears to be very employable in road races at the highest level. Elena Cecchini needs no introduction. She is of great value to our team wherever she starts."
