In the second of our series introducing UCI Women’s Teams, we focus on Team Liv-Plantur. Read our previous article featuring BTC City Ljubljana.
A new team jersey graced the podium of the opening round of the UCI Women Road World Cup in the Netherlands on March 14th. In taking second place behind Wiggle Honda’s Jolien D’Hoore in the Boels Rental Ronde van Drenthe, Amy Pieters (the Netherlands) announced the intentions of Team Liv-Plantur for the 2015 season.
This season is the fifth for Pieters with the team which has changed its name this year from Team Giant-Shimano. Liv and Plantur are the women’s brands for the main sponsors of the formation’s UCI WorldTour team, Giant and Alpecin.
This time last year, the women’s team had already made its mark on the women’s peloton with a 1-2 (Kirsten Wild and Pieters) at the Ladies Tour of Qatar followed closely by Pieters’ victory at the Omloop Het Nieuwsblad.
This year the team has lost Kirsten Wild to Hiteck Products UCK. And while Pieters’ more modest early season results (9th in Qatar and 7th at the Omloop Het Nieuwsblad) may not have wowed the professional peloton, it is all part of the Liv-Plantur game plan. Coach Hans Timmermans explains: “Last year we were in super form at Qatar but this year we wanted to be in good shape for the start of the spring races and the UCI Women Road World Cup in Drenthe and the Flèche Wallonne. Even so, we had to be in basic shape for Qatar and Amy did really well.”
Specific training after Qatar
A training camp in Spain after Qatar saw the team move from endurance training to intensive work-outs in preparation for the one-day classics. Luck was not on their side at the Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, where Pieters punctured then had a problem with her brakes. “But I saw that she had what it took,” said Timmermans, whose words were confirmed this weekend with her second place in Drenthe. And the team won’t stop there.
“When you race for the podium you can also win,” observes the coach. “The difference between this year and last year is that they are riding more aggressively,” says Timmermans. “We already showed that at the end of last season. Our leaders are world class and the whole team made progress last year. Sometimes they looked like the men’s team with their lead-outs.”
After the classics it will be the turn of the team’s climbers to show their colours. Claudia Hausler, winner of the Giro della Toscana in 2013 and the Route de France last year, will be the team’s biggest hope along with new signing Sabrina Stultiens. The pair will prepare the rest of the season with a high altitude training camp in May. The two got to know last year at the podium ceremonies of the Route de France where Sabrina claimed the young rider’s jersey.
Stable team environment
Apart from the departure of Kirsten Wild, who will concentrate on the track, and the arrival of Sabrina Stultiens, the team remains stable compared to last year. It’s a sign that the athletes appreciate their environment.
“It’s such a nice group of girls,” says Lucy Garner, who should be back on the circuit at the end of the month after knee injury. She embarks on her third season with the team that took her under their wing when she first turned pro at 19 years of age. Even with two Junior World Championships titles under her belt, the change was brutal.
“It was a tough experience both on and off the bike,” remembers the young rider who left her family, friends and schooling behind in Great Britain to move to the Netherlands. “But it’s so good how the team works. They gave me a chance to develop as a rider, to see how I got on in the peloton, and I really appreciate that.
“Yes the first year was tough but I think I have developed as a rider and I feel at home in the peloton now.”
After the departure of Wild, Garner is the team’s lead sprinter: “It’s a big role to take on but I’m looking forward to getting stuck into those final kilometres. Everyone gets a chance on our team. I might work for a rider at one race and then she will work for me at another race.”
Amy Pieters confirms: “It's nice to continue working with the same team. We know each other pretty well and this is something that we can build on.”