The progress that Tereza Neumanova has made in recent months was again evident in Nokere Koerse (129 km) on Wednesday. Our Czech road champion competed for a podium spot until the very last moment and eventually finished twelfth. Lotte Kopecky soloed to victory in the Belgian classic.
The race did not start as hoped for Liv Racing TeqFind. The leading rider Rachele Barbieri suffered too much from stomach flu and left the race after the cobbles of the Varentstraat. This forced Liv Racing TeqFind to switch to plan B, which worked out quite well. In particular, Tereza Neumanova and Eva Buurman proved to be in good shape. As the race progressed, they maintained their presence handsomely in the front group.
“The initial goal today was to drop Rachele off as well as possible in the final and to support her. But we already knew this morning that Rachele was not feeling top fit. In addition, Nokere Koerse is simply a tough, technical race in which you often have to anticipate unexpected moments. So we had thought about several scenarios and were prepared”, says Tereza.
Giving everything
“In the local final lap around Nokere, I felt strong. Several riders attacked there, including the big names. I knew I had to go with them, absolutely did not want to let them go and I threw my strength there. In the deep final it was a fight for the best positions. On the straight parts I tried to move up a bit each time and there were also changes after every corner. In the long final sprint on the Nokereberg, I gave everything I had in me at that moment.”
Tereza is happy with her performance, which gives her confidence towards the upcoming races. “Personally, I keep a very good feeling about Nokere Koerse. This was only my third cobbled classic ever and the first in two years. As a team, we had hoped for more beforehand. A podium position might have been a possibility, if we could have stuck to plan A. However, we dealt well with the circumstances.”