Van Dijk powers to prologue victory in Baloise Ladies Tour

Ellen van Dijk (Trek-Segafredo) claimed a commanding victory in the prologue of the Baloise Ladies Tour, clocking in at 5:08 for the 3.9km time trial in Utrecht, 11 seconds ahead of her nearest competitor, Lorena Wiebes (DSM), and 14 seconds better than Wiebes' teammate Esmee Peperkamp.

"It's a nice start [to the race] to win and with some good [time] advantage. It was really nice for me because it was a home race – 10-15kms from home - so I had friends and family there. That made it a special evening," Van Dijk said.

The world champion set the Hour Record in May and then struggled to come back to racing form, but showed she is back on track.

"I am also happy because I am coming off a training period where I didn't have the best feeling. But now it seems like everything is fine, so this is a nice confidence boost.

"I really like this Tour because there is also a time trial coming and so I can wear my rainbow jersey twice this week, which I don't get to do often.

"Of course, I am also looking towards the GC as well with this team here - we had a good start today with the team. But at the same time the bonus seconds will be a problem in the sprint stages, but for sure we will go for it.  We always have other options, like breakaways chances for other riders. We will see, but for sure it's a very nice start to the Tour."

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