A day of racing defined by iconic climbs, don’t you just love bike racing? We’re whizzing from the VAMberg at the Ronde van Drenthe to the Terminillo at Tirreno – Adriatico.
Women’s Ronde van Drenthe: Hoogeveen to Hoogeveen, 152.2k
Second round of the Women’s WorldTour finished in a flurry of rainbow stripes as Amalie Dideriksen (Boels-Dolmans) took her first win as World Champion. In a thrilling four-up finale, the Dane jumped from behind to power past Elena Cecchini (Canyon SRAM) and Sunweb’s Lucinda Brand at the line. Elisa Longho Borghini‘s fourth was enough to ensure the Wiggle High5 rider retains the purple jersey for leader of the WWT series.
Highlights…
Just love this…
Yep, cooler than a cool thing from coolsville (you can follow Amalie’s season on her blog with Ella Cycling Tips)…
The VAMberg shapes the Ronde van Drenthe. It’s the one climb in a flat parcours, the place where the selection is always made. It ramps up to 22%, it’s cobbled in places, and it’s completely man-made – from rubbish! Read more about this iconic and very Dutch climb in this Rouleur article.
Another facet I LOVE about women’s racing is the joyous social media afterwards. Win or lose the sheer excitement zings through. There are too many to list here but check out a few of these twitter accounts – I guarantee they’ll put a smile on your face. Boels-Dolmans, Canyon SRAM, Wiggle High5, Sunweb – and of course you can find them ALL on Sarah Connolly’s account @PWCycling.
Full report at Cycling News.
And the men…
The men’s race was won by Delta Cycling’s Jan Willen Van Schipp from Twan Castelijns (Team Lotto NL-Jumbo) with Jasper De Buyst (Lotto Soudal) rounding out the podium.
The Aqua Blue’s were active again with Adam Blythe taking 4th.
Stage 4: Montalto di Castro to Terminillo, 171km
Ahhh the Terminillo. Remember when Movistar’s Nairo Quintana took a solo, snow laden win atop it’s fabled slopes in 2015? Well, he did it again yesterday – only minus the snow. The Colombian was cool as cucumber. Looked like he wasn’t going to attack at all as other riders were tempted into it. Then after some teasing bursts of acceleration he danced away with 2km to go, sashayed past Katusha – Alpecins’s Simon Spilak to cross the line with 18secs to spare. Geraint Thomas (Sky) took an excellent second place leaving his fans to wonder what if the TTT had been problem free, with Orica-Scotts Adam Yates in third. Don Nairo now holds the race lead by 33secs from Yates with Thibaut Pinot (FDJ) in third at +56secs.
Highlights…
Experience counts…
The healing powers of cats…
Katusha-Alpecin’s Matvey Mamykin is riding his first ever WorldTour race. He took a nasty crash yesterday, sliding out on a corner, right under a barrier and down the side of the banking (video here). We’re relieved to hear from his team and the man himself that all is well. See Panache, not all cats are evil!!
Header image: podium at WWT Ronde Van Drenthe © Tim De WaeleDSO/Tim De Waele/Corbis via Getty Images)