Olivia Dillon gets a pre-race rub at the World Championships in Valkenburg
Olivia Dillon has made worthwhile the long trip from her base in the US to the World Championships in Valkenburg, Holland, by putting in a very good performance in a chaotic and hard fought elite women’s title race this afternoon.
“I’m definitely happy with how it went,” she told stickybottle.
“I’ve done the Worlds three times now but not for the past two years. I did it in both 2008 and 2009 when I wasn’t long racing. So to come back and to put in a good ride; it was great.”
Dillon was in the peloton as the race headed last time up the Cauberg climb just a few kilometres from the finish. The pace last time up that ramp split the field to pieces, with the Irish rider coming home in 59th place, in a small group some 5:03 down on lone winner Marianne Vos (Netherlands).
Advertisement
Dillon said she got caught up in the large crash in the early stages and while she got back on well within one lap, the effort to close the gap was a difficult one.
Related News
“As our group got bigger it was a bit easier but at the start there were only a few of us,” she said.
Once back on, the national time trial champion said she focussed on staying well positioned and trying to remain as far up the field as she could when the race hit the Cauberg climb each lap. She said when the winning breakaway went on the fifth of eight laps today it was very hard.
“Definitely that was super tough; some parts of it were very hard. I was expecting it to go ballistic last time up the Cauberg and it did.”
She said with wheels being let go in the line-out as the American and British riders chased the breakaway, she found herself off the back on the last lap but battled back with others to regain the group before the final ascent of the Cauberg.
“Then once we got onto that last climb I gave it everything. I felt I raced hard today and I’m definitely happy with how it all went and just generally with the set-up in the Irish camp. Cycling Ireland have been great; you couldn’t ask for any more.”
Topics
