Thüringen Rundfarht 2007

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Emma Rickards (Raleigh Lifeforce Creation) was proudly wearing the yellow jersey after the presentation, disclosing that this was the “first one” she has worn. “I am very excited to be in yellow at Thüringen. It was a very hard race for us today and anyone of us could have been in yellow. I managed to get in a break and secure some extra bonus seconds and I managed to just hang on at the finish and not loose and extra time so that worked well for me.  At the finish when we realized it was going to be a sprint, we were going to try for Jo [Kiesanowski] but it didn’t work out. Asked if the team will now defend the jersey to the end of the week, Rickards added, “We have not planned what we are going to do, but if we loose it then that’s ok. Although having said that, we plan to watch the moves and do what we can to keep it. There is another time trial at the end of the week and we have a strong team of time trialists so we should be ok”.

Oenone Wood (T-Mobile) reflected on her third place in the sprint and the race overall. “It would have been great if Anke [Wichmann] could have stayed out there today but unfortunately that’s not how it ended up. It was a very hard day today, it’s always hard in Thüringen. These courses go up and down, left, right, and through narrow roads”.

Wood was asked if it was difficult to keep some control in the peloton given the number of attacks. “It certainly was, some teams seemed to have stronger numbers in the breaks so we definitely had to keep on our toes today. We had to work really hard chasing breaks and making sure we were always in the important moves and had things under control”.

Emma Pooley (Team Specialised Designs for Women) rode herself into the Mountains jersey today and chatted after the presentation. “I am very pleased to be in the jersey it was a tough day for the team today but it was good for us to be on the podium today. After the last climb I was pretty sure I had the jersey. It would have been nice to stay in the front group but I didn’t manage it. I am happy though”.

Tanya Hennes (Bigla) was in the final group on the road today, struggling to find form after a bout of illness. “I am not sure how the team faired to day, but it was a hard day for all. This was my first race after being sick for two weeks. The speed was really high and it was very windy. I had to work really had just to stay in. All the teams are coming out of the Giro which is a very high speed race so I am happy with today and will see how I go tomorrow”. Asked if the team had planned for Noemi [Cantele] to attack with 6km to go Hennes added, “We don’t have a sprinter so it was important for Noemi to try to go early. She can hold good speed when she is on her own, this  was our goal today but sometimes it doesn’t work”.

Kate Bates (T-Mobile) found the going tough today, she chatted after the race. “For me it was very tough, groups just kept attacking I just had to stay up the front and be alert all the time. The last 5km in was very tough. I am very tired now”. Asked if the team had planned to support the mountains jersey, she added “That was a bit of a joke today, although defending it was at the bottom of our list of priorities I think it  [the jersey]  must have given me a boost because I was climbing much better than I normally would. It’s time to hand it over now”.

Amanda Spratt (Australian National Team (AIS) looked tired after the race and spoke briefly about her day. “It was very tough out there today. It was on right from the start and there were quite a few climb. I haven’t raced for a couple of months so found it very hard. It was good to get back in there [the race] and I am very happy with my ride today and we had a good day as a team. The winds played a real factor on the race today, there were occasions where it was just little groups all fighting to get together. As a team we had lots of bad luck today, we had 3 punctures and one in the last 5km to go. Josie Loane had to get a spare from another team as the service had gone to the finish”.

Joanne Kiesanowski (Raleigh Lifeforce Creation HB) was pleased with the team performance and the fact that they had kept the yellow jersey. “It was a bonus that we managed to keep the jersey in the team. We decided that we weren’t going to waste the whole team to defend it today, it’s a long week. We are really happy that we kept it, we tried to go with every break there was and Emma [Rickards] managed to get in one and gained some valuable seconds. There was a point that all 6 of us were in the lead group so it shows we were strong today. The pace was really high in the wind which made it tough and even harder for the breaks to stay out there today”.

Katie Brown (Vrienden van het Platteland) found the race tough today. Brown has been suffering with a chest infection for some time and has some niggles in her previously injured knee. All of this culminated in a very frustrated end to the race. “It was a very tough day, I got :time cut" so that’s the end of the tour for me. I didn’t expect to be going fantastically and I thought I might struggle. My head probably wasn’t in the right place for this tour at the moment so I am not too disappointed. My knee was sore and the continuous up and down meant there wasn’t much I could do”.

Anna Wilson (T-Mobile -Director) was pleased with the team's performance today, although she would have been justified in a little disappointment that Wichmann's break didn't last to the finish. “We were very excited that Anke was in the breakaway for so long, when it went out to over 2 minutes 20 seconds, we though she had a chance to take the stage win and the yellow jersey. With the wind and the chasers it made it very hard to stay away. We are pleased though, we had the three riders we hoped for something on GC all finishing in the front. I think today was more about not loosing time more than gaining it although that would have been nice. As you could see the bunch split in half so some riders are out of contention now. We have the three we want in there so that’s good”.