Riejanne Markus has won the Dutch title on the road. After a chaotic final, the 27-year-old rider of Jumbo-Visma was the best. She defeated Shirin van Anrooij on the VAM mountain, succeeding friend Amy Pieters.
Around the women’s competition in Drenthe, there was a lot of talk and especially about Amy Pieters. The SD Worx cyclist captured the red-white-blue champion’s jersey last year. She suffered severe brain damage in a training accident in Spain at the end of December. Pieters had to undergo surgery and was in a coma for months. Family, friends and her teammates presented a crowdfunding campaign at the start, because not all her treatments at home and abroad are reimbursed by the insurance.
When the race started in Drenthe, it took a long time before anything really happened. No one managed to pull away until the peloton split in two halfway through the race. Almost all Jumbo-Visma riders missed the stroke and had to work to return, which they succeeded. With 50 kilometers to go, Riejanne Markus decided to step on the pedals. Her escape attempt had little chance of success, but ensured that the race became a bit harder.
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At 42 kilometers from the finish, the next attempt came from the Jumbo camp. It was Marianne Vos who decided to pick up the pace and go on an adventure alone, hoping to take the Dutch road championship jersey for the fifth time. She took about 45 seconds, but when the pursuers made it work, this gap quickly narrowed. Vos was called to order and when entering the last 20 kilometers the favorites were back together.
It was a chaotic final on the local circuit around and over the VAM mountain. When a group tried to drive away, it did not take long before they were called to order again, partly because Lorena Wiebes was always in the right position and it would be difficult to beat her in the sprint. In the last 10 kilometers Shirin van Anrooij and again Markus succeeded. The latter, however, left most of the work to the Trek-Segafredo rider before the two sprinted up the VAM mountain. In the sprint uphill, Markus outwitted her competitor. Wiebes sprinted to third place in 7 seconds.
,,Incredible. And also so special, because before the start it was an emotional moment. Then I turned the switch and I was in the race the whole time,” said Markus, naturally referring to Pieters who arrived solo last year. “Last year we celebrated her title together and now I’ve been missing her all year. next to me in the race, I think a lot about Pieters, hopefully she’s proud of me.” Why she delivered so little in the last kilometers? “That was because I still had Marianne behind me. Fortunately I was able to finish it.”
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