Extra motivated Wiebes looks ahead to first race since Giro d'Italia disqualification

Lorena Wiebes was disqualified from the Giro d'Italia on 30 May after her bike was found to be underweight, but she returns to action on Saturday at the Copenhagen Sprint. The Dutch rider for SD Worx-Protime has previewed the Danish WorldTour race on her team's website, and Wiebes is going straight for the win.

Wiebes won the race last year. "I'm really looking forward to it and I'm extra motivated to prove myself again after everything that has happened over the past few weeks. It's called the Copenhagen Sprint for a reason, so we're expecting a sprint," she said with a smile.

"Last year was the first edition, so it is still quite a new race on the calendar. It is a challenging but beautiful race. For me as a sprinter it is ideal — a chance to take on the other top sprinters and prove what I can do." Wiebes faces competition from, among others, Charlotte Kool, Nienke Veenhoven and Elisa Balsamo.

"It is a 156-kilometre course, quite long, with a few local finishing laps in the city centre at the end. Those can get pretty hectic, so you have to stay sharp. We have the perfect sprint train with us — a team that is genuinely made for this race."

Wiebes will be supported by, among others, Femke Gerritse, Femke Markus, Barbara Guarischi and Julia Kopecky. "We have the ideal riders for this race. We will absolutely be going for two from two. We'll be at the start with the goal of winning."

Sports director Christian Kos is equally enthusiastic. "I'm really looking forward to it. It feels a little like coming home — Copenhagen is a beautiful city and my mother is from here. I have a lot of happy holiday memories here and I've always loved cycling in Denmark," Kos said.

"Last year was a wonderful first edition, with a fantastic sprint from Lorena. It would be great to go home with the victory again on Saturday. Denmark is always a bit rolling — not flat, but not a climbing race either. We cannot afford to be caught out and need to follow the race attentively."

"A lot of teams will approach this race with the idea of sprinting. The danger is that a group gets too much of a gap, or that at some point you find yourself chasing an escape. We have to be alert and think carefully about how to best shape the race to our advantage."

SD Worx-Protime mindful of the weather

"With Lorena, we naturally want to work towards a sprint," Kos continued. "She is fired up to show her worth again after last week. We're bringing a team that can both control and attack. We'll see how the race develops, but in any case we have the riders to respond to different scenarios."

Finally, Kos flagged the importance of the weather conditions. "The forecast is saying it could rain. When you're riding through the city centre in a large peloton in the wet, it can get quite dangerous. It's up to us to protect Lorena as well as possible."

Author: David Bavin-Hobbs - [email protected]