Jan Groenendijk class apart in World Cup drafts

The international competition was quite let down in Rotterdam. A large African delegation was denied a visa and Russians are not welcome on the dam fields. For example, Yurii Anikeev from Ukraine became the only serious competitor of the fully-commissioned Team NL, which went very well for him, judging by his second place. But also Anikeev could not match the great series that Jan Groenendijk produced.

The only one to shake Groenendijk was Groninger Wouter Sipma in the penultimate round, who unleashed a great attack with two points behind. “I deliberately avoided every draw variant, but when the win was within reach, there was no time to finish it and Jan won with a sharp counter.”

World champion Roel Boomstra, who will no longer defend his title later this year in Curacao, presented his former second from the internet stand with a conclusive winning variant. Sipma takes courage. ,,Jan will of course be the favorite for the world title, but I have shown again that I can come very close to it.”

Danny Staal the best amateur

Groningen champion Danny Staal (50) was surprisingly the best amateur in Rotterdam and was at the top all week. ,,I played well. It was close to the real top. Especially with my only defeat against Groenendijk, I was confronted with my limitations and lacked computing power. All very educational.”

At the front of the peloton, the northerners Matheo Boxum, Maarten Wichgers, Lisa Scholtens and Sytse Spijker also did well. Scholtens finished third in the women’s race behind Fleur Kruysmulder and national champion Darya Tkachenko. Remarkable was the strong performance of 13-year-old Zhuoyuan Du from China, who cautiously returns to the dam front after years of isolation.