Victory for Maud

Maud Rijnbeek took home her first elite victory at the Watersley Women’s Challenge. In a time trial of 12 kilometers the 19-year old was five seconds faster than Lieke Nooijen. Maud is now second in the general classification with one stage to go.

“I had a really good Simac Ladies Tour last week where I could ride with some of the best riders in the world, especially on the final day. I took that feeling into this race but first rested well,“ says Rijnbeek.

“Yesterday was full gas from the start and we really worked hard as a team. There was one rider better and I finished in tenth place. Today was the time trial and I didn’t expect at all to win this race so I am really happy.

I tried to race this time trial without thinking too much. Christian Kos really coached me well from the car and talked me through it. I had to race in the pouring rain so thought that was not great but, in the end, it worked out well,” Rijnbeek smiled.

“It’s great to see that all the girls from the team did a great time trial here. It’s also really wonderful to ride with our U19 riders who have their own race here in Watersley. They already scored two podiums. Tomorrow we all go full gas one more time.”

This was AG Insurance-NXTG’s fourth win of the season. The team also raced in the north of France where Julia Borgström finished in fifth place and was awarded the jersey for most combative rider.