RAPID ASCENT
The northern Netherlands in early spring is an unforgiving place for a cyclist. A freezing wind rages endlessly across the flatlands, bending the branches of leafless trees.
Lining up for her first UCI race in the small Dutch village of Dwingeloo in March 2018, Welshwoman Leah Dixon had no idea what she had let herself in for.
Nearby, as she shivered on the Drentse Acht van Westerveld start line, 2016 world champion Amalie Dideriksen chatted with her Boels-Dolmans teammates, and soon-to-be Commonwealth champion Chloe Hosking passed
