Carlijn Achtereekte made her debut as a professional cyclist on Saturday. The former Olympic champion in speed skating finished in the rear in the first stage of the Tour de Suisse. Lucinda Brand won in Vaduz.
In the first stage, the women drove ten laps of 4.6 kilometers in the capital of Liechtenstein. There was a climb of 800 meters on the course with an average gradient of 5.9 percent. Achtereekte always had a hard time with that col and eventually had to let the peloton go.
The Dutch riders Brand and Pauliena Rooijakkers and the German Clara Koppenburg broke away from the pack with 30 kilometers to go and the trio took almost a minute on the big group. Brand won the sprint for the win with great force majeure and recorded her first victory of 2022 on the road.
The four-day Tour of Switzerland is a 2.Pro race, the level below the WorldTour. Sunday’s second stage is a flat time trial of 25.6 kilometers in Vaduz. The men will then ride the last stage of their Tour de Suisse on the same route.
Carlijn Achtereekte (middle rider) rode her first race as a professional rider in a beautiful setting.
Carlijn Achtereekte (middle rider) rode her first race as a professional rider in a beautiful setting. Photo: Getty Images
Achtereekte became Olympic champion in 2018
The 32-year-old Achtereekte announced last month that she switched from skating to cycling within Jumbo-Visma. “Deep in my heart I have always had a passion for cycling,” she said. “I’m going to copy the art of my teammates and hope that I can play a role within the team first in service.”
De Overijsselse has been skating for the Jumbo-Visma of coach Jac Orie since 2017. Her absolute highlight on the ice rink was winning the 2018 Olympic title in the 3 kilometer in South Korea. She also took World Cup silver (in the 3,000 meters in 2020) and bronze (in the 5 kilometers in 2021).