Visma-Lease a Bike may have reigning Tour de France champion Pauline Ferrand-Prévot on their La Vuelta Femenina roster, but the stated goal for the Dutch team this week is picking up stage victories.
The Frenchwoman targeted the Tour of Flanders and Liège-Bastogne-Liège this spring, but she didn't come away with the results she had hoped for, instead finishing second and 22nd as Demi Vollering (FDJ United-Suez) won both races.
Ferrand-Prévot will end her spring in Spain as she heads up Visma's team the seven-day race, which starts this Sunday. She said her team is aiming for a stage win during the week, while she's hoping to "progress" as a stage racer ahead of the Tour de France Femmes in August.
"Of course, we’re aiming for the best possible result and want to win a stage. As a team, we’ll have to work well together to make that happen. I hope to play my part in that," said Ferrand Prévot.
"Personally, I’m also here to make progress as a stage racer. Everything I do here is aimed at improving, with our main goal of the season in mind: the Tour de France Femmes.
"Just like last year, I want to show my very best level there."
Visma-Lease a Bike directeur sportif Jos Van Emden said that "there's still work to be done" for Ferrand-Prévot to transition back to focussing on Grand Tour racing following the spring Classics.
"After a strong spring, this is her first real preparation for racing for general classifications again," he said.
"There’s still work to be done, but we know that. It will be important for her to get a full week of racing under her belt in Spain. I’m looking forward to a great week."
Van Emden said that the team's focus will be on stages throughout the week, with Marianne Vos – searching for her seventh Vuelta stage victory – and Sarah van Dam – seventh in the Amstel Gold Race – among the riders in the seven-woman team leading the charge for stage wins.
"The earlier stages are more similar in profile, and that’s where we’ll go all-in for stage wins. That’s our main goal this week," Van Emden said.
"Of course, Marianne will be our key rider for those finishes, but we also have other options to show ourselves in the opening stages. It should come as no surprise that we have Marianne firmly marked for a number of stages.
"Sarah is a rider who strengthens us across the board and gives us another card to play. She’s had a very consistent spring, and I expect her to play an important role in several finales."
Ferrand-Prévot, Vos, and Van Dam will be joined in the Visma-Lease a Bike lineup are 20-year-old Briton Imogen Wolff, French racer Marion Bunel, and Dutch riders Lieke Nooijen and Maud Oudeman.
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