Keep Challenging: The story behind Team Sunweb's dream 2017 season

How Dumoulin, Rivera, Barguil and others delivered an amazing year for Dutch squad

Team Sunweb in action at the World Championships in Bergen

(Image credit: Yuzuru Sunada)

As Team Sunweb’s women raced into Bergen and the finish of the team time trial at the World Championships in September, their male counterparts watched tensely. As the seconds ticked by and victory looked likely, conversation stalled. By the time the women celebrated their unexpected success on the podium, the men knew they had a lot to live up to.

"We were watching it on TV and said, 'S**t, they are winning!'" Tom Dumoulin tells Cycling Weekly some weeks later. "We didn’t expect either of us to win, we were a podium candidate, the women maybe not even that, and I don’t know if it completely changed our mindset, but we thought if they can do that, why can’t we?"

Thank you for reading 20 articles this month* Join now for unlimited access

Enjoy your first month for just £1 / $1 / €1

*Read 5 free articles per month without a subscription

Join now for unlimited access

Try first month for just £1 / $1 / €1

Owen Rogers is an experienced journalist, covering professional cycling and specialising in women's road racing. He has followed races such as the Women's Tour and Giro d'Italia Donne, live-tweeting from Women's WorldTour events as well as providing race reports, interviews, analysis and news stories. He has also worked for race teams, to provide post race reports and communications.