“Multi-day races are always fun”, Swinkels says. “The variety makes it very exciting. There are sprint stages and a time trial, but there’s also a lot of climbing.” That was also the case in the Simac Ladies Tour. “Many people underestimate how tough a multi-day race is, but look at how many riders in the stages around Landgraaf and Arnhem finished in the front group. Not many.”

Swinkels sprinted to her first World Tour podium in the first stage last week. “That was special. It was not our goal. The team planned to work for Coryn (Labecki) in the first stages, but after she crashed, I took over her duties." In the end, Swinkels finished in the top ten in every stage and took third place in the general classification. “I never expected it to turn out like this. You hope it will happen one day, but it all has to fall into place."

According to Swinkels, you can’t compare the Spanish and Dutch races. “This week will be completely different. Maybe I'm still a bit tired after last week. We start on Wednesday with a team time trial. I think we can get some beautiful results there. In Sweden, we have already shown that we have progressed with almost the same team (the team came 4th at the TTT Postnord Vårgårda WestSweden). It could be the start of a very nice week.”

There is a lot of climbing in the two stages that follow. Swinkels sees opportunities for her teammates. “Those days are very suitable for Amber (Kraak) and Anouska (Koster). They have shown that they are good uphill and can ride a good classification. I will support them as well as I can.”

Swinkels is already looking forward to the last stage that finishes in the Spanish capital Madrid. “It will be a sprint. Hopefully I will get through the week well, and I may be able to fight for the win there.”