Susanne Andersen was one of the star signings for the Uno-X women's team that was set up ahead of the 2022 season, but she missed last year's Tour de France Femmes after breaking her collarbone in the national championships. A year later, she finally makes her Tour debut, wearing the Norwegian champion's jersey that she won in late June.
"I am very proud of the jersey, it's just a really beautiful design, and whenever I wear it, it reminds me of a very good moment. And since I couldn't make it last year due to the broken collarbone I sustained in the Nationals, it feels like I've come full circle. I am super stoked and excited to be here," Andersen told Cyclingnews ahead of stage 1.
The team will try to make the race every day, changing tactics depending on the profile of the stages, and not focusing on the general classification.
"We have Anouska Koster who we can try the GC with, but that is not the main goal for us. We will try to go for stages every day, and the ways to get the best possible result will look different from stage to stage. I really want to go in the breakaway if it makes sense. I feel my shape is really good at the moment and things have finally started to come together for me after a good training period. Winning the national championship gave me a nice confidence boost before starting such a big race like the Tour," Andersen explained the strategy going into the race.
On the same day as stage 1 of the Tour de France Femmes, the men's Tour de France finishes on the Champs-Élysées in Paris. The Uno-X men's team did well in their first Tour, collecting ten top-10 finishes by mixing it up in the sprints with Alexander Kristoff, but especially through putting riders in breakaways. Tobias Johannessen finished third on stage 6 to Cauterets-Cambasque while Jonas Abrahamsen was part of the breakaway that held off the sprinters on stage 18, also finishing in third place. These performances have been an additional motivation for Andersen and her teammates.
"It just gives a lot of energy. My boyfriend, Torstein Træen, is racing there, but he was very, very unlucky. He broke his elbow in the first stage, but he's still in the race. He inspires me every day to push harder, and the team as a whole proves that what we are doing is good enough to be good at the Tour. I feel like we are riding better and better together in the women's team, so we are all looking forward to going out and smashing it. Hopefully, we can ride in similar ways to the men's team," the Norwegian champion finished.
