Carina Schrempf (Fenix-Deceuninck) came incredibly close to winning stage 1 of the Tour de Romandie Féminin with a late attack, being passed by Sofia Bertizzolo (UAE Team ADQ) practically on the finish line and still finishing second. It looked like the Austrian champion had even posted up to celebrate the stage victory that she missed so closely, but Schrempf explained that she was throwing her arms in the air in frustration.
"I can understand that it may look like a celebration, but I was not celebrating. I realised that another rider was passing me at a much higher speed on my right and crossing the line before me. I was taking the hands off my handlebars and screaming 'nooo' as I realised that my power was not enough for just a few centimetres to take the win," Schrempf told Cyclingnews.
The Fenix-Deceuninck team had been trying to stay on top of the many attacks in the last 40 km of the race, and Schrempf herself went after Kasia Niewiadoma (Canyon-SRAM) when she attacked with 12 km to go, but they were quickly reeled in.
"It was really important to be in the front and not let any attack go without one of us, but also following the big names like Niewiadoma as it is known that she can be dangerous. I'm happy that I could stay in that first group on the climbs and do my job in the pre-final by following attacks, my teammates also did a great job there," Schrempf explained the team's tactics.
2.7 kilometres from the finish, she made a solo move herself, getting a gap through a succession of turns.
"I got instructions from my DS because there is still a bit of experience and confidence missing from my side but I'm very grateful that the team believes in me to make a move like this. I knew I needed to push as hard as I could all the way to the finish line, that was all I could think about in this moment," the Austrian champion said.
As it happened, Schrempf was passed by Bertizzolo literally on the last metres of the race. Despite missing her first Women's WorldTour victory by centimetres, Schrempf still saw positives in her performance.
"The positive is definitely that I was able to do this effort in the final. And I've never been top-10 at a WorldTour race, so a second place is something special. But I also know that in cycling it's all about winning races and I hope that one day I can make it all the way to the finish line. Doing things like these in my first year is hopefully something we can build on. But now it's definitely time for me to learn how to throw my bike over the finish line because hopefully I will be in situations like this in the future," said Schrempf.
