Lorena Wiebes was already well established as the best sprinter in women’s cycling after her dominant years at Team DSM, but since joining SD Worx has developed tremendously as a Classics rider and overall more versatile star of the sport.
The flying Dutchwoman was not the winningest rider of 2023 after achieving the feat back-to-back in the two seasons prior with her former team. She actually had the fourth-most victories behind fellow SD Worx pair Demi Vollering and Lotte Kopecky and her former teammate and key lead-out rider Charlotte Kool.
This doesn't paint the full picture of Wiebes’ class throughout the season, however, with her palmares showing just how often she was runner-up or on the podium of races she wouldn’t have been down as a favourite for in the past.
Often she was the second-best rider in the seemingly inevitable SD Worx 1-2 finishes throughout the year, behind World Champion Kopecky. The pair finished as the top two at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, Danilith Nokere Koerse, stage 1 of the Tour de France Femmes and overall at the Simac Ladies Tour.
“I really liked the transfer [to SD Worx]. I won less than the year before, but I already knew that when I signed my contract with the team,” said Wiebes to WielerFlits after the Superprestige cyclocross round in Niel this past weekend. “For me, it was especially important that I developed myself as a rider, and I notice that I have taken a huge step forward in that area.”
Wiebes was most impressive at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, right there with the punchier, lighter riders on the Muur and Bosberg before winning the sprint behind Kopecky. And she showed it was no fluke with her ability to ride the Cauberg with Kopecky and Kasia Niewiadoma (Canyon-SRAM) as she and the World Champion cruised to another 1-2 overall at the Simac Ladies Tour.
Even with this addition to her arsenal of abilities, Wiebes didn’t lose her near-unmatchable top-end sprint speed, only facing a real challenge in flat finishes from former teammate Kool, who made a big step in 2023. She still won the only flat sprint at the Tour de France Femmes on stage 3 before she had to abandon due to illness, so why change anything?
“I would prefer to continue working on what I have done this year,” said Wiebes. “Continue to take steps in terms of details and assert myself more and more in tougher races.
“That's why I was actually very happy with my second place in the Simac Ladies Tour, on top of the Cauberg. I was able to follow Lotte [Kopecky] and Kasia [Niewiadoma] there. I had never achieved anything like that before, and that is currently more important to me than getting more victories.”
This pursuit of the toughest races perhaps comes with a bigger goal in mind, the Paris Olympic Games road race. Wiebes is eyeing a potential crack at a medal, but the home start of the Tour de France Femmes in the Netherlands coming so close to the Olympics will likely play a role in her decision.
“The Olympic Games are going to be important. This week we are going to Paris with the KNWU to explore the road race, so I will have a better idea of how that suits my style,” said Wiebes.
“The Tour de France Femmes, with the Grand Départ in the Netherlands, will also be an important race. Fortunately, those two goals are relatively close to each other, which makes it feasible to combine them.”
