With two stages to the Sunweb name already, as well as four days in the leader’s pink jersey with four separate riders, the Dutch outfit, all riding Liv bikes, is off to a flying start in the longest, toughest race on the Women’s World Tour calendar.
Team success
With a team time trial opening the 2018 Giro Rosa, team discipline and strength were put to the test from the off. As current world champions in the discipline, Team Sunweb were naturally the big favourites to ride away with a victory that would see them pull on the first pink jersey of the race.
Mitchelton-Scott pushed them close over the pan-flat 16.1km course but fell just one second short in the endi. Team Sunweb’s win saw their leader, Ellen van Dijk, pull on the first leader’s jersey of the race. The Dutch superstar explained just how her super-disciplined team rode to stage glory:
"It was a very fast course, but we were well-prepared and knew we had to go very fast from the start. We reconnoitred the course several times and had a good meeting before the race. We laid out a good plan and executed it almost to perfection. That is what was needed to win this race.â€
The following three stages resulted in consecutive bunch sprints, all dominated by the Belgian sprinter, Jolien D’Hoore (Mitchelton-Scott). However, thanks to top placings for Lucinda Brand and Leah Kirchmann on stages two and three respectively, ensured that the coveted pink leader’s jersey stayed in Sunweb hands.
Going into stage five, one billed for the escape artists, Sunweb’s reign in pink looked to be under threat. Could they hold onto the lead for yet another day? Ruth Winder gave us the answer with another dominant display of Sunweb colours, demonstrating once more the team’s immense strength in depth.
A dose of breakaway brilliance
On the final climb of the day, with little over 35km remaining, some of the race’s GC favourites put their noses to the wind and attacked. However, a small trio soon tore away – Alice Arzuffi (Bizkaia Durango-Euskadi Murias), Tayler Wiles (Trek-Drops) and Team Sunweb’s Ruth Winder – throwing themselves down the descent in pursuit of victory.
Before long, the elastic snapped and left the three to contest the stage win among themselves. Winder came up trumps, charging ahead of her two breakaway companion to take Sunweb’s second win of the race and affirm their dominance in the GC. With her first ever individual pro win, Winder also won herself a day in pink, taking it gracefully from the shoulders of her teammate, Leah Kirchmann.
The race-dominating setup
Team Sunweb is sponsored by Liv, Giant’s sister brand, and has been rocking some flashy kit at the Giro Rosa so far. By virtue of their domination on mixed terrains, both their versatile, lightweight Langma and the aerodynamic Envie bikes have made headlines.
For the bunch sprints, Team Sunweb has piloted the Liv Envie, a bike where every aspect and leading edge has been built with aerodynamics in mind, cutting through the bunch to score three top-10s in the sprints thus far.
It was aboard the versatile Liv Langma Advanced SL that Winder punched her way to stage 5 victory. Much like its cousin, the men’s 2017 Giro d’Italia-winning Giant TCR, the Langma is Sunweb’s go-to bike for this kind of race, a machine that can conquer any terrain from country lanes to Alpine cols. With some of the toughest stages yet to come, the Langma still has plenty of work to do, especially with the infamous Monte Zoncolan lying in wait.
For an entry-level bike benefitting from the same race-winning design as others in the Liv family, the Liv Avail is an enviable all-rounder and available with a wide range of component specifications.
For a look at the rest of the Liv range offered at Bicycle Chain, click here.
