Franziska Koch ends Simac Ladies Tour 2nd on GC after good team ride and tactical finale

The final day of racing at Simac Ladies Tour saw the peloton take on the now traditional stage in Arnhem, with it’s rolling final circuit. Franziska Koch was resplendent in yellow as she signed on for the day, with Team dsm-firmenich PostNL setting out with the goal of defending the overall race lead. However, the team knew it would be tough as several riders were still within striking distance and a variety of race situations and tactical games could see them dislodged at the top of the rankings, with ten bonus seconds on offer at the line.
Throughout the day Silje Bader, Maeve Plouffe, Rachele Barbieri and Megan Jastrab followed and sat-on any dangerous and large groups; ensuring that things could remain somewhat controllable. Coming into the last 30 kilometres Smulders made a solo move and while initially partly controlling, the team then left the work to others who wanted to chase to go for the stage win. Heading under the flamme rouge everything was still in the balance with Smulders a few seconds out front but a strong chase saw her caught in sight of the line. Barbieri tried to position Koch who then gave it her all in the sprint but unfortunately Kopecky won the stage and with it the overall title. Nonetheless, Koch and the team can look back on a good team performance; as she also takes her first ever GC podium finish.
Koch said: “We knew it was going to be a hard fight today. The girls left everything on the road today for me and we just missed a fast finish to take away the seconds. I think we can be proud of how we raced as a team though and I am very grateful for the hard work the girls did for me.”
Team dsm-firmenich PostNL coach Albert Timmer added: “We did a lot of things really well today. However, with Charlotte crashing out yesterday we could not really compete against the Kopecky and Wiebes duo in the final, although we tried. We went into the race with the attitude to try and create situations that benefit us, and the team did really well at that. We had a situation that was good for us but in the end the race turned out to be 50 metres too long, so that’s a shame, especially as everyone would have loved to have seen Franzi win, as she is a proper team player who always gives her all for everyone else. We really hoped that she could have taken it home today, so it’s bittersweet in this case.”