Photo ©Velofocus
Tiffany Cromwell has enjoyed the latest phase of her 2017 season with a tremendous win in the 7 stage Lotto Thüringen Ladies Tour in Germany last month. Tiff soled to victory just ahead of the peloton in stage 1 of the tour after using her fast cornering skills to break away in the final kilometre of the stage and hold on for the win.
It had been a year since Tiffany last put her hands in the air. “It was a really nice feeling to win again. At least I didn’t have to wait 3 years like the last time! It was important for my personal confidence to have that winning feeling, especially at this point in the season. The first half of the year had many ups and downs, and I felt like I just couldn’t seem to get the ball rolling how I had hoped. So after a lot of hard work over the last few months, it was nice to see things finally came together. I was happy to have the opportunity and support from my team to go for it and be able to finish the job off for them.”
“Overall Thüringen Lotto Ladies Tour was a successful race for the Canyon//SRAM racing team. We finished with a number of stage podiums and put in a strong team effort to take home the overall victory with Lisa. It was a really hard week of racing, and was motivating to be part of this strong team effort.”
As soon as Thüringen Lotto Ladies Tour finished, Tiffany travelled directly to France to join up with the other half of her Canyon//SRAM racing team to race La Course by Le Tour De France up the famous Col d’Izoard. “It was pretty hard backing up after Thüringen with La Course two days later as I was feeling pretty fatigued, but I was excited to be there and race to support my team mates.”
Tiff had the opportunity to experience what it’s like to ride the Tour De France climbs in front of thousands of passionate fans. “I understand now what people talk about when they talk about the atmosphere of riding a mountain pass in the Tour. I really enjoyed it. There were lots of Aussie flags along the roadside, and what made it extra special was that in celebration of the Rapha women’s 100, we had a special edition kit change out to race in at La Course. Our various team partners worked together for it to all come together and it looked awesome. It was so special to be part of a day where we weren’t only there to race our bikes, but also to help share a message to encourage and inspire more women to ride.”
Since La Course, Tiffany has had a 4 week break from racing to recharge the batteries, refresh her mind and complete a solid training block to have her ready for the final part of the season. “At first I wasn’t so sure about having such a long break between races at this point in the season, but it turned out to be really good for me. I was able to recovery properly from the last racing block and then move into a heavy training period before freshening up ahead of the next races. I spent most of the time at home on the Coté d’Azur during this period, but I also enjoyed a trip up to Morzine in the French Alps with some friends for a few days and change of training scenery. I’m feeling ready to go again, excited to race and hope that this 4 week training block will see me finish off the season strongly.”
Tiffany is now into her last phase of the season. “I am getting ready to race the 4 day Ladies Tour of of Norway, which kicks off tonight in Halden. From Norway I will then race GP Plouay in France, followed by the Lotto Belgium Tour. I am aiming for strong results in these next races to hopefully gain selection into the Australian team for the upcoming world championships in Bergen, Norway at the end of September.”
You can follow Tiffany on social media at Instagram and Twitter – @tiffanycromwell.
Tiffany Cromwell 