Rowe up to second after hailing her ‘best ever result on the road’
Olympic gold medallist 15 seconds behind leader Breakthrough year has helped boost confidence
New team, new coach. New confidence. Dani Rowe enjoyed another excellent day at the Ovo Energy Women’s Tour yesterday, moving from fifth up to second overall after stage two. The 27-year-old said afterwards that she felt she was riding as well as she ever has done on the road, having improved her “tactical and technical” game since moving to Dutch team Waowdeals over the winter.
The 2012 Olympic team pursuit gold medallist – who changed her surname from King after marrying Matt Rowe, brother of Team Sky’s Luke Rowe, last year – crossed the line fourth in yesterday’s stage from Rushden to Daventry, just out of the bonus seconds on offer for the top-three finishers.
It was her aggression earlier in the day, winning two of the three intermediate sprints, which paid dividends. The six bonus seconds accrued meant she is now just 15 seconds behind stage winner Coryn Rivera (Sunweb).
The truth is it might have been even closer. Having profited from leadouts from team-mate Marianne Vos, the multiple world and Olympic champion, in those intermediate sprints, Rowe returned the favour in the final run-in to Daventry.
Vos was just beaten by Rivera on the line but still rose to third overall, one second back on Rowe. Had it been the other way around, though, and Vos had given Rowe the leadout, Rowe might well be leading the race by now.
Rowe smiled at that suggestion, saying she was just honoured to be riding with one of the legends of women’s cycling. “Yeah, that sounds crazy,” she said of the prospect of Vos going “all-in” for her.
“It was really weird today having Marianne leading me out. She’s such an amazing rider.”
Rowe used to be a team pursuit track rider. She only began to take the road more seriously after failing to get a place on Britain’s endurance team for the 2016 Rio Olympics. She switched full-time to road in 2017, joining Cylance Pro Cycling. But she had a mixed year, her lack of experience in the bunch holding her back a little.
Now working with Dr Len Parker Simpson, a physiologist with the English Institute of Sport, Rowe said she felt she was making better use of her power.
“On paper, in terms of power, I should be one of the strongest [in the women’s peloton],” she said. “But it has been my tactical and technical abilities which have held me back. I feel like I’ve had a bit of a breakthrough this year, though. I’ve got a new coach. And with the team as well, I’ve never been in one like this where everyone just commits to each other. Honestly, it feels so good. When people do that you want to deliver for them.
“Also, I have just got a lot more confidence in my ability. I’ve learned so much off Marianne and the other girls in the team.”
It looked that way as Rowe blasted around the two laps of the finish circuit, which involved climbing Newnham Hill twice. Rowe won the sprint over the finish line the first time around as a group of four riders – Rowe, Vos, Kasia Niewiadoma (Canyon-sram) and Elisa Longo Borghini ( WiggleHigh5) – escaped briefly. And she was smiling as she crossed the finish line, having done her bit for her team-mate.
“It’s probably my best result on the road,” she said. “It bodes well for the rest of the week. It’s exciting.”
There was less good news for Abi van Twisk ( Trek-drops) and Katie Archibald ( Wiggle-high5), both of whom abandoned having suffered falls on Wednesday. Today’s stage, from Atherstone to Leamington Spa, is the longest of the race at almost 100 miles. The race ends in Colwyn Bay, North Wales, on Sunday.