It was no surprise to see Canyon-SRAM and Vimalise-a-Bike riders at the top of the results sheet in the opening round of the Cymac Ladies Tour time trial, as 20-year-old Beckstedt celebrated his first professional win, while 23-year-old Nouyen was time He was pleased to confirm his trial talent.

“I'm always nervous on the first day of time trials, but I'm really happy with the result. Of course, a difference of 7 seconds over a distance of 10 kilometers is huge. Zoe deserved to be the winner. I gave it my all and I'm happy with second place,” Nouyen said.

There are not many time trials on the women's calendar, especially in the Women's WorldTour; she was third in the first stage of the Tour de Normandie in March, behind Ellen van Dijk (Lidl-Trek) and her teammate Markus. In the Dutch ITT championships, Nuijen again lost to Marx, while van Dijk was sidelined with an injury.

She then finished fourth in the opening ITT of the Giro d'Italia women's race and won the 2.2 race in Poland, the opening TTT of the Princess Anna Vasa Tour, a sprint stage, and the closing ITT. In the Simac Ladies Tour, Nouyen beat both Markus and van Dijk by just 0.16 seconds. After a strong ITT performance, Wednesday's second stage will be a special one for Nouyen, starting in her hometown of Covolden.

“I'm really looking forward to it. The stages in this race are long and I think the wind will play a part, and I've come with three good riders, so we'll see what happens,” said Nouyen, promising a three-pronged team strategy for the rest of the race, which consists mainly of flat stages, some of which are echelon hazards.

Lacking a strong sprinter, Vimalies a Bike is expected to try to tear the race apart. Anna Henderson, after a strong team performance in the first stage, finished in sixth place, 24 seconds behind Beckstedt.