Pauliena Rooijakkers was not a name that was featuring at the top of many predictions lists for the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift this time last week. Despite finishing fourth at the Giro d’Italia, the Dutchwoman would have ranked below Demi Vollering, Kasia Niewiadoma, Évita Muzic, and the unlucky Elisa Longo Borghini in the hierarchy of favourites. Battling for the top 10 or five, sure, but for the win? That wasn’t on the forecast.
Fast forward a week, though, and Rooijakkers has been one of the most consistent riders of the last seven days, the only rider who could match Demi Vollering on the Col du Glandon and Alpe d’Huez, and for it she’s been rewarded with third overall in the Tour de France, plus second on its queen stage. And really, we shouldn’t be surprised at all.
Rooijakkers started her career back in 2012, but it’s really only in the last few years that she has found her strengths in climbing, especially the long, steady climbs. A successful two seasons at Canyon-SRAM in 2022 and 2023 saw her win Durango-Durango and rack up podium finishes in some key stage races, but she was always second-rung to teammate Kasia Niewiadoma, which limited her chances in the biggest races.
For 2024, she moved to Fenix-Deceuninck, initially an intriguing move – the team was known more for their Classics and off-road prowess, and it was not yet known how a GC climber would fit it into that set-up. As it turns out, however, a fresh environment and a chance to be a leader was all that Rooijakkers needed to prove herself on the highest stage.
“She was fourth in the Giro, ninth in the Vuelta, so she’s growing, growing, growing, and now third in the Tour de France, that’s very good,” Fenix-Deceuninck sports director Michel Cornelisse told Escape Collective at the finish. “We definitely expected it a little bit.”
For Rooijakkers herself, the expectation or belief only started to kick in much closer to the finish on Sunday.
“At one moment, we were riding for yellow, both of us [her and Vollering], so you think for sure for that, but in the beginning of the week, no,” she said with honesty after the stage. And whilst she might not have been thinking about going for the podium or contending for the win on Alpe d’Huez, the ingredients were all right there.
Firstly, Rooijakkers is a pure, rangy climber that goes best in the long, tough climbs. These climbs don’t come around all that often in women’s races, with punchier efforts much more common, so riders like Rooijakkers don’t get to show off their talents all that often. But when they do, they really shine. This strength, combined with a strong team effort from Fenix, was the perfect combination on Sunday.
“You know that Pauliena is good on the long climbs, as she showed also in the Giro. To make a plan on this stage is very difficult because you see there were 24 riders in the break, which not everybody expected. Then we started pulling in the valley to the Glandon, and then the gap was one minute thirty, so that was safe, we knew that the winner was still in the peloton. Then we were following attacks and Rooijakkers could follow,” Cornelisse continued.
This strong team presence around Rooijakkers has been key throughout the race. As such a pure climber, Rooijakkers was one of the riders earmarked for trouble in the Netherlands, but being in a team like Fenix is the perfect balm for any weakness on the flat or in chaos. Any questions about a GC rider fitting into that team have been roundly answered this week, with Rooijakkers also highlighting their pre-race efforts.
“This team is really professional,” she said. “We went to altitude camp together and also with the food and all the little things we work on, we have our own mattress with us, all the little details we focus on. There’s no separation with the mens or women’s team, it’s both equal. We take the good stuff from them, but also they take stuff from us, and with the coaches everything is all equal. I think that makes a big difference and also the belief I get from this team helps a lot.”
In the end, the belief, coaching and tactical support from the car proved vital as Rooijakkers tried to duel with Vollering, expected to be the best climber in the race. Cornelisse explained that because Vollering had pushed Rooijakkers so hard on the descent, they had no choice but to tell her to hold off on the flat, which proved to be a clever decision for the Fenix rider, even if it cost the defending champion yellow.
“From the car they said to sit in [Vollering’s] wheel but I was also suffering on her wheel,” she said. “I tried to attack but I didn’t have a lot in my legs any more so I was happy to sit on. That’s why I was sitting in her wheel a lot because I didn’t want to blow myself up play that game. But also from the car, we were playing the game to sit more on her wheel. She was fighting really for yellow and I was just hanging on, otherwise maybe I would park myself on Alpe d’Huez and I didn’t want to let that happen.”
Perhaps the only thing that was a true surprise in Rooijakkers’ journey to third was her time trial result. At the time, it didn’t feel so significant, but the Dutchwoman was one of the GC riders that lost the least amount of time to Vollering on Tuesday – less than Niewiadoma, less than Muzic, less than Realini – and that paid dividends. Even her much improved descending, which proved crucial on stage 8 is not entirely brand new. It’s been something she’s been getting better at all year.
“I have some things to work on,” she said when asked about her descending. “But for sure the longer climbs suit me well and we worked with the team for that but there are still little things where I need to get more confidence. We will work on that.”
From this week, it’s clear Rooijakkers has already been working on a lot of her riding, and her confidence is already building. Give it a year and some more tweaks, and the Dutchwoman could be a real contender for not just the podium but the yellow jersey come 2024. Just don’t let it surprise you next time.
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