Lucas Nieuweboer has won the Egmond Half Marathon. After a fantastic showdown, he crossed the finish line in 1 hour, 3 minutes and 34 seconds. This makes Nieuweboer the first Dutch winner of the Egmond Half Marathon since Kamiel Maase in 2006. Among the women, Aminet Ahmed crossed the line first in 1 hour, 10 minutes and 4 seconds.
For the men, a leading group of four riders emerged. Khalid Choukoud, one of the Dutch favorites, had to drop out of the leading group quite quickly. Tom Hendrikse and Lucas Nieuweboer, together with two other athletes, formed the leading group. Ronald Schröer, who was supposed to run a home race, had to cancel last minute yesterday.
Nieuweboer had good legs just before the end and took off together with Victor Chumo. Hendrikse had to pause, causing the two to head for the finish. In the streets of Egmond, Nieuweboer attacked away from Chumo and headed for the finish alone. Nieuweboer was no longer caught and crossed the finish line first.
Holterman great
The top athletes started in windy conditions. Jill Holterman from Egmond aan de Hoef started attacking for the women. On the beach she was well ahead and when the women returned to the paved path, she was in the leading group of seven runners.
In the dunes the pace was increased several times, causing gaps to appear. Still, Holterman held up well. Because the pace was high, the pursuers were unable to close the small gap. Towards the eighteen kilometer mark, Holterman also had a hard time, because the three Ethiopians took off.
Aminet Ahmet crossed the line first in 1.12.19. Holterman finished fourth in a time of 1.12.37. As a result, the North Holland woman fell just outside the podium, but she was the best Dutch woman.