The Ceratizit Challenge by La Vuelta ended with a stage in Madrid. As expected the race finished in a bunch sprint. For Liv Racing Xstra it meant the end of a challenging race, but the team finished in a good way.
The riders of Liv Racing Xstra gave it all every day during this Ceratizit Challenge by La Vuelta, but were confronted with a challenging race. The team stepped up and finished strong in the final stage. According to plan the purple train brought Tereza Neumanova to the front. The Czech champion sprinted to a seventh place. “I am satisfied with this top-10 position. The girls brought me in position in the final three laps and protected me well. It was a hard sprint after a hard race. I am really happy with my 7th place. It was a hard Vuelta for our team. We tried our best every day, but it was very challenging. I am glad we could finish in a good way”, Neumanova told after the race.
Her words were echoed by sports director Giorgia Bronzini. “It was a good way to finish this Vuelta. Our goal was to bring Tereza to the final, so she could do a sprint. The girls delivered Tereza in a good position behind Balsamo. The team rode together and stepped up after the former hard days. It is nice to end the race this way.”
With the finish in Madrid the last ‘Grand Tour’ of this year is over. One Liv Racing Xstra rider rode the Giro, Tour and Vuelta: Thalita de Jong. The Dutch rider joined the team at the 1st of June and did a lot of races in a short period of time. “It has been a hard part of the season. After several years with mostly one day races on club level it was a big step to the World Tour races. I felt my body had to get used to this kind of racing. I noticed the recovery between all the stage races was a little harder. Also the long travels and the long periods away from home cost a lot of energy. Still I really enjoyed this races, it was a very nice experience. The Vuelta was a very challenging race. The team time trial went well for me personally, but the second and third stage I didn`t feel well. The fourth stage I could recover a bit and today was again really hard. I was a little bit afraid for the high speed and the amount of corners, but I could stay in the front all day long and helped Tereza in the final kilometres. Now it is time to take some rest and recover from all the hard races.”