Team time trial world champions top Boels-Dolmans by four per cent
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The Sunweb squad pose for photos after the win(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
No hiding the excitement of the Sunweb team(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
The winning Sunweb team celebrate(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Team Sunweb on the podium(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
The Sunweb riders in full flow(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Team Sunweb earned the top spot in the 2017 Cyclingnews reader poll in the Best Women's Road Team category. The Dutch team beat out Boels-Dolmans in second and Orica-Scott in third.
Team Sunweb had a stellar season with a total of 14 victories largely due to multiple wins from Lucinda Brand, Coryn Rivera and Ellen van Dijk. Brand kicked off the season with a win at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad ahead of the current road world champion Chantal Blaak (Boels-Dolmans) and current time trial world champion Annemiek van Vleuten (Orica-Scott).
In her first full European racing season, Rivera showed she earned her spot Team Sunweb with victories at the Trofeo Alfredo Binda - Comune di Cittiglio and Tour of Flandres, two Women's WorldTour victories that gave the American a stand-out early season. She went on to claim wins at the women's Tour of California and Prudential RideLondon Classique, also Women's WorldTour events. And ended up fourth overall in the series ranking.
Van Dijk continued the team's winning success at the Healthy Aging Tour with a time trial stage win and a overall victory. She also won the time trial at the European Continental Championships and the prologue at the Ladies Tour of Norway. Other wins that contributed to the team's success came from Leah Kirchmann, Juliette Labous and Julia Soek.
The team capped the season in the best possible way after winning the world title in the team time trial at the UCI World Championships in Bergen.
Boels-Dolmans had the most victories at 28 for the season, most coming from Van der Breggen, who won the inaugural Ardennes Classic - Amstel Gold, La Fleche Wallonne and Liege-Bastogne-Liege - the Women's Tour of California and the Giro Rosa. She also won the overall individual classification for the Women's WorldTour.
Orica-Scott held its own at 18 season victories mainly coming from Van Vleuten, who readers voted winner of the Best Female Road Rider in the Cyclingnews reader poll. Van Vleuten won 10 races this season beginning at the Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race, Durango-Durango Emakumeen Saria, a stage of Emakumeen XXX. Bira, the Dutch national time trial title, two stages of the Giro Rosa, La Course and the Boels Rental Ladies Tour. Other wins came from Sarah Roy, Katrin Garfoot and Amanda Spratt.
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