Lorena Wiebes won the Ronde van Drenthe for the third time on Saturday.
In the sprint of a still sizeable group, the SD Worx rider beat the Norwegian Susanne Andersen (second) and Maike van der Duin (third) from Assen in the streets of Hoogeveen. The riders were presented with an adapted course. Due to the snow on the Drenthe roads, the start in Emmen was canceled and six times around and over the VAM mountain were raced before heading to Hoogeveen. The distance was only 94 kilometers.
Third win of the season
European champion Wiebes was of course delighted with the win. She already booked her third victory of the season for her new employer SD Worx. ,,This has become my round, I was keen to win a third time in a row in Hoogeveen. The route was different due to the circumstances, I actually missed the boulders quite a bit, but I am very happy that the organization managed to make a safe course so that we could still ride.”
Wiebes also looked with a slanted eye at the European Championships, which will also be held in Drenthe in September. ”I have a starting place as defending champion and that course also leads over the VAM mountain. I am certainly looking forward to that, we will try to keep the title in the Netherlands.”
Very satisfied
Maike van der Duin was very satisfied with her third place in her home province. ,,I thought ‘will it happen to me that I can sprint for the podium in my own province? I am very happy that it worked out. I give my team a first podium place of 2023 here and that is also a nice entry as a newcomer to this team. I feel very much at home with this team and am happy to step up to Canyon-Sram in an even more professional environment.”
Although Wiebes was the big favorite beforehand, Van der Duin certainly sprinted to win. ,,Naturally. You are not going to resign yourself to defeat in advance. For me this is a nice confirmation that I had a good winter. Do I ever want to come back and win? If you can get third, you can win. So why not.”
Van der Duin was honored in Hoogeveen as the best young rider in the race and is also the leader in the youth classification of the Women’s WorldTour.