Deignan's dream week

Brit takes two World Tour wins in five days at Plouay and La Course

- Pete Cossins

Lizzie Deignan leapt to the top of the WorldTour rankings with two victories in five days, the Yorkshirewoman first winning the GP de Plouay and following that up by edging out Marianne Vos in a gripping finish to La Course. “It’s been quite an extraordinary few days for me and the Trek-Segafredo team,” Deignan told Cycling Weekly.

The Trek team was put together at the start of last season and, although they did enjoy some significant successes during 2019, Deignan believes the squad has gelled much more this year. “I think we all feel more comfortable together, we’ve improved massively and I feel lucky to be part of this team. I’ve struck up a really good understanding with Elisa Longo Borghini. We can see what we need to do even without speaking to each other, which is quite extraordinary and really wonderful.”

Trek went to both of the WorldTour races without a pure sprinter, packing their line-up with aggressive riders looking for breakaway opportunities. “We had several cards we could play at Plouay and we were all primed to get into breaks,” said Deignan. “We knew the wet conditions would make it difficult. Lizzy Banks went clear and I saw my moment in a crosswind and jumped across to her.”

She was full of praise for compatriot Banks. “She was completely committed to keeping the break going from the start,” Deignan said of the Paule Ka rider. “We knew that the chasing group was always relatively close to us and that Annemiek van Vleuten was the main threat there. But I knew that Annemiek wouldn’t be able to drop Elisa, who was marking her, on a course like that where the climbs are relatively short and not too steep. That gave me and Lizzy a great opportunity and we made the most of it.”