Coryn Rivera could hardly have set the bar much higher for herself during her opening season at Sunweb, but the American is determined to approach her sophomore year on the team in much the same frame of mind that carried her to victory at the Tour of Flanders, the Trofeo Alfredo Binda and the RideLondon Classique in 2017.
"We take all our positives from last year and we learn from all our mistakes last year as well, and use that going into 2018 with a clean slate," Rivera told Cyclingnews. "There's always a new race. You can't go in thinking, 'We won it last year so we'll win it again this year.' It's about going in with a clear mind and not being overconfident, but at the same time knowing everything we did last year and drawing confidence from that.
Confidence is something Rivera – winner of 70 national titles and counting – can hardly have lacked over the course of her cycling life, even if she endured quiet frustration at being pigeonholed as a sprinter during the early years of her senior career. That misconception came about largely due to her slew of criterium success in the United States, as she combined her professional career with a business degree at Marian University, but Rivera began to showcase her full range once she was able to focus fully on racing in 2016.
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Although Rivera suffered the disappointment of missing out on the Rio 2016 Olympics, she impressed in her final season at UnitedHealthcare, winning the Joe Martin stage race and securing a contract with Sunweb for the 2017 campaign. The expectation, both within the team and externally, was that Rivera's first season on a European team would be largely a learning experience, but the Californian adapted quickly and stitched together a fine sequence of spring results.
As well as victories at the Trofeo Binda and the Tour of Flanders, she placed third at Gent-Wevelgem, 6th at Amstel Gold Race and 7th at La Flèche Wallonne to take a temporary lead in the Women's WorldTour standings. She would finish the season-long series in 4th place behind winner Anna van der Breggen.
"It was a lot more than I had expected," Rivera said. "I went into last year more as a development rider, learning the ropes and really feeling what it's like to race here full-time. But I learned pretty quickly. I learned how the peloton moves and who the riders to watch are and how the team works. Everything just clicked really easily. But I think there's always something to improve on and learn from, and that's what I'll look to do this year."
Eyes on Tokyo
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