Saturday, April 1, 2023 at 5:07 PM
Kaden Groves has won the Volta Limburg Classic. The Australian from Alpecin-Deceuninck rode away in the final with Maxim Van Gils and Pascal Eenkhoorn. After throwing the latter overboard, Groves was too fast for Van Gils in the sprint. Eenkhoorn took the last podium spot.
The Volta Limburg Classic 2023 was a total of 193 kilometers long and had almost 3,000 vertical meters. The course consisted of three laps of around sixty kilometers, after which it ended on a local lap of six kilometers in Eijsden. The finals included the Kutersteenweg (1.2 km at 3.3%), the Mheerelindje (500 meters at 6.5%), the Hoesberg (500 meters at 5.5%), Kalleberg (500 meters at 5 .2%) and Moerslag (600 meters at 5.3%) are climbed.
Early in the race a leading group of six formed, consisting only of riders from continental teams. Tim Marsman (Metec-Solarwatt), Timo de Jong (VolkerWessels), Marien Bogerd (Allinq), Pierre-Pascal Keup (Lotto-Kern Haus), Julian Borresch (Saris Rouvy Sauerland), Abram Stockman (Tour de Tietema-Unibet) rode gathered a lead of more than half a minute and then drove… wrong. The six went off the route, after which the race was briefly neutralized.
The early flight – photo: Cor Vos
Lead group is growing
Once back on the course, Marsman, De Jong, Bogerd, Keup, Borresch and Stockman regained their previous lead and the race could be resumed. The peloton did not give the six the blessing yet, because the pace remained high. Still, six riders were able to make the crossing. Meindert Weulink, a 23-year-old climbing talent from ABLOC CT, was the first to make the jump. Then Johannes Staune-Mittet, Colby Simmons (Jumbo-Visma), Rune Herregodts (Intermarché-Circus-Wanty), Jacob Scott (Bolton Equities Black Spoke) and Kaden Groves (Alpecin-Deceuninck) also joined.
Lotto Dstny had missed the blow and opted for the counterattack with three riders: Pascal Eenkhoorn, Milan Menten and Maxim Van Gils. Together with Dries De Bondt (Alpecin-Deceuninck) and Mathias Bregnhøj (Leopard TOGT), the winner of Olympia’s Tour, they picked up Borresch. The German should have dropped out in front. Without Borresch, who also had to fit in with the pursuers, the five joined the leading group with 73 kilometers to go.
Partly due to the bad weather, it was a tough course, Thijs Zonneveld also noticed – photo: Cor Vos
Onley returns and breaks down
This situation did not last long. After Eenkhoorn’s acceleration, a quartet was formed including Van Gils, Groves and Herregodts. The rest of the leading group crumbled. At that moment, in the already considerably thinned peloton, there was an attack by Oscar Onley (Team DSM), who rode to the front in one go – past all the riders who had been released. The five of them slowly but surely walked out on the chasing group.
At less than fifty kilometers from the end, Onley literally dropped out at the front. Groves just pulled through in that phase, drove alone in front for a while, but then dropped back to the three other attackers. The next to try, with 35 kilometers to go, was Eenkhoorn. He didn’t get away, but Herregodts should have passed because of his action. It was like two against one in front: Eenkhoorn and Van Gils against Groves. The third group, behind Herregodts, was already running at one minute and twenty seconds.
Groves in Van Gils – photo: Cor Vos
Groves versus Van Gils
With about twenty kilometers to go, Groves went again, just after Eenkhoorn had made a head turn. The Dutch champion had no answer to the acceleration and had to get off. Van Gils was able to hook up his cart and got stuck in the wheel of the Australian, who stoically drove on. The two of them stayed together and would sprint together for the victory, because Eenkhoorn did not come back.
Groves started that sprint from the front, but was strong enough to beat Van Gils. The Australian won by a few lengths in Eijsden. Eenkhoorn crossed the line in third place and thus completed the podium.
Kaden Groves: “The team has been patient with me”
