Bunel concludes Tour de Suisse Women with top ten ranking and win in youth classification
Marion Bunel secured the youth classification in the final stage of the Tour de Suisse Women. The 20-year-old Frenchwoman crossed the line in tenth place in the difficult final stage, passing her white jersey competitor Eleonora Ciabocco. In the final classification, Bunel finished ninth.
Bunel was second in the youth classification prior to the fourth stage and knew she had to make up four seconds on Ciabocco. Mijntje Geurts, Femke de Vries and Rosita Reijnhout made sure the young Frenchwoman stayed out of trouble along the way and brought her to the foot of the Michaelskreuzstrasse in a good position.
On this 4-kilometer climb, which had an average gradient of 8 percent, Bunel managed to keep up with the best for a long time. On the final steep sections, she wasn't able to follow and rode up at her own pace. In the end, she crossed the line in tenth place. That was enough to pass Ciabocco in the standings.
"I am very happy to have won the white jersey again."
"I am very happy to have won the white jersey again", said Bunel, who was also the best young rider in Volta a Catalunya Femenina. "Actually, it only became a goal after the second stage. Although I had some difficult moments that day, I didn't give up and managed to limit the damage. At the end of that day I saw that the difference with the number one in the youth classification was very small, so I really wanted to go for it today."
"The ladies helped me fantastically today. Everyone was focused and eager to win this jersey. I think it's very special that I was able to win this for the team."
Sports director Jan Boven also speaks of a very successful day. "I am more than satisfied. The goal was to win the white jersey and we succeeded. Of course we also hoped to move up in the general classification and Marion succeeded in that as well. The girls fought hard and rode a very nice race," Boven said.
According to the Dutchman, the team travels back home with a good feeling. "Everyone helped each other well and made each other better. Just like in the Itzulia Women and the Volta a Catalunya Femenina, we were at the start here with a young group. It's nice to see that we grew again in this race. That's what you want to achieve in the end."