In a exceptional comeback to skilled biking, Lotta Henttala (née Lepistö) has captured two second-place podium finishes within the opening levels at Setmana Valenciana, and is only one step away from victory.
“All in all, I’m proud of as we speak. Fascinated by how final 12 months a comeback wasn’t even on my thoughts, and now this. It’s so nice to be a part of this staff, and it simply seems like gold being again,” Henttala mentioned after ending second to former World Champion Elisa Balsamo (Trek-Segafredo) on stage 2 into Vila-Actual.
Henttala made her return to the ladies’s skilled peloton in the beginning of this 12 months with AG Insurance coverage-Soudal-QuickStep following a interval away from the game to have her little one. She additionally cited burnout as a motive for her absence from racing.
“It was tremendous particular to have Olavi there,” Henttala mentioned. “It’s tremendous good to be again, nevertheless it’s hectic with a peloton of 160. I want to seek out my place and rhythm once more, which is regular, in fact.”
She has had a profitable racing profession, most notably successful Gent-Wevelgem in 2017 and two levels of the Ladies’s Tour as effectively ending on the rostrum in a number of different races, together with the World Championships highway race, RideLondon Classique and La Course.
She raced for groups Bigla and Trek-Segafredo earlier than becoming a member of Ceratizit-WNT Professional Biking in 2021. She certified for the Tokyo Olympic Video games as the only real Finnish consultant within the ladies’s highway race however was unable to race after she grew to become pregnant together with her son, Olavi.
The Setana Valenciana marks her first race with AG Insurance coverage-Soudal-QuickStep, a three-tier programme that features an under-19, under-23 and elite Continental staff.
Henttala sprinted to second place within the two opening levels, ending each instances behind Balsamo. As well as, her staff AG Insurance coverage-Soudal-QuickStep confirmed their early-season strengths within the closing kilometres of stage 2 with a strong leadout to rival WorldTour outfits Trek-Segafreo, Jumbo-Visma and UAE Staff ADQ.
“Yesterday we misplaced one another within the ultimate. Now we arrange the dash practice ourselves and dropped her off very effectively. There are undoubtedly nonetheless issues to work on, nevertheless it appears very promising. That is already spectacular, contemplating we have now a brand new squad. To this point, I’m very impressed,” mentioned director and former professional racer Jolien D’hoore.
