Riejanne Markus has crowned herself Dutch champion on the road. The Jumbo-Visma rider was the best on the VAM mountain after a very entertaining title battle with the ladies. Shirin van Anrooij was second, Lorena Wiebes third.
With Amy Pieters in mind, the entire peloton was ready for the start in Westerbork at 2.30 pm. Pieters won the National Cycling Championships in 2021 and before the start of the competition there was a small tribute to her and her family, in which a crowdfunding campaign was started to raise money for the long rehabilitation process of the Dutch rider.
Three teammates of Pieters were at the start of this Dutch National Championships cycling and it gave them an extremely mixed feeling. Demi Vollering, Chantal van den Broek-Blaak and Lonneke Uneken logically had tears in their eyes, but were determined to do everything they could to honor their teammates on the VAM mountain.
Short race, then make an early course
There was also some criticism in the corridors: the women’s race was only 124 kilometers long, which in turn invited to make a quick course. This happened without Carlijn Achtereeke (Jumbo-Visma) and Floortje Mackaij (Team DSM), who did not start.
We did not get a real leading group, as is often the case in women’s cycling. Instead, the better ladies set course early, with Ellen van Dijk and Lucinda Brand showing themselves very active in the middle phase of the race. Jumbo-Visma missed that battle and had to chase favorite Marianne Vos. The yellow-black brigade succeeded in this aim.
Brand continued systematically on the VAM mountain, putting pressure on Van den Broek-Blaak (recovering from a crash) early on. In the aftermath of this lap, with fifty kilometers from the finish, Markus gave it a try. Under her impulse a leading group of eight was formed, including Shirin van Anrooij and Karlijn Swinkels.
Toppers show themselves in exciting final of the Dutch National Championships
SD Worx was not with them, so Vollering had to neutralize it himself on the ascent of the VAM mountain. The other favorites quickly followed, but all these efforts started to pay off further down the pack. Shortly afterwards it was all hands on deck in the front: Vos went solo and knew that quite a few teammates could stop in the chasing group.
In no time Vos took three quarters of a minute, but the gap was narrowed again by Trek-Segafredo. With twenty kilometers to go, the Tilburg woman was caught again, after which Van Anrooij made her move at the start of the last lap. Vos and Wiebes crept along, but the collaboration was immediately lost.
Van Anrooij and Markus against the rest
Thus, the steam rollers Van Dijk and Markus were able to drive away on the flat again, but once again it was Wiebes who was at his best. However, the sprinter was unable to respond to a move by Van Anrooij and Markus, ten kilometers from the finish.
These two ladies started the last three kilometers with twenty seconds, when Markus suddenly stopped taking over. As a result, the gap narrowed visibly, with which they also partly threw away their own chances.
When entering the final kilometre, Markus suddenly took the lead again, in an attempt to break away from Van Anrooij. Jumbo-Visma and Trek-Segafredo pulled off in the background, making it a battle of two. Van Anrooij used her technique to start early, but was overruled by Markus. She just held out and became Dutch champion! Wiebes came in third moments later.
Results National Championships Women’s Cycling 2022
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