Maaike Verweij from Veenhuizen wins the final classification in the Marathon Cup without driving, Sjoerd den Hertog from Groningen is second among the men. Day victories Robert Post and Irene Schouten

Maaike Verweij from Veenhuizen won the general classification in the Marathon Cup on Saturday evening in Leeuwarden, without participating in the final. The Groningen Sjoerd den Hertog came in second among the men.

That happened after the closing matches in the Elfstedenhal, in which Irene Schouten was the strongest among the women and Robert Post from Groningen among the men. But apart from the day victories, the final of the Marathon Cup was mainly about winning the general classifications.

That winner was actually already established in advance with the Drentse Verweij. The marathon skater from Veenhuizen had already built up so many points ahead of the final that she would normally be impossible to find out in the last competition. Verweij was struggling with the after-effects of a double collarbone fracture. In consultation with the coaching staff, she had decided not to play in Leeuwarden.

Irene Schouten and Marijke Groenewoud control the match

That turned out to be the right choice. Her only remaining competitor Esther Kiel should have won at least a lap in the final to possibly knock Verweij off the throne. That never worked. The good work of Irene Schouten and Marijke Groenewoud, the teammates of the Drenthe at AH Zaanlander, ensured that. The two classmates controlled the races and prevented Kiel from breaking away from the peloton.

Schouten and Groenewoud made the match tough by keeping the pace high. They were also the strongest in the final, which ended in a fierce sprint between both teammates. Schouten became the clear first and winner of the stage victory, while the silver went to Groenewoud. Kiel fought for what she was worth, but had to settle for third place.

That was not enough to prevent 22-year-old Verweij from winning the Marathon Cup. Kiel was second in the general classification before the last race in Leeuwarden and also finished there.

Harm Visser is too fast for Sjoerd den Hertog

With the men, the battle for the overall victory promised to be more exciting. After all, number two in the general classification, Sjoerd den Hertog from Groningen, was only a few points behind the Frisian leader Harm Visser. Both ruffs finished the final in the peloton, from which a leading group of eight men had escaped.

When the peloton sprinted off, it once again showed how fast Visser, who has already won many a marathon, is in the last meters. Jumbo Visma’s fast young Frisian finished ahead of Den Hertog, who therefore remained in second place behind him in the final ranking.

The evening then became even better for the Jumbo Visma marathon team when Robert Post took the day victory by beating his fellow provincial Daan Gelling from Huizinge in an exciting sprint. Third place was some distance away for Jorrit Bergsma, who has also been playing for Jumbo Visma since this season.

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