This years Dutch Road Race Championships are held around Maastricht, doing 13 laps on a course containing a small hill and totalling 234km. The puncheurs are therefor the favourites, so we'll be looking at the likes of Gesink, Dekker and Weening.
Within 10km, Marco Brus is the first to attack.
Together with Veelers, Kavsek, Hopman, Rijntjes and Heijboer, he completes the first lap. As you can see, the hill is rather small.
Up front in the pack, we have a lot of Jack Wolfskin riders. With 100km done, they hold the gap around 9 minutes.
With 95km to go, they still lead the pack with a gap of 8'40 now. But then, suddenly, a Jack Wolfskin rider is down!
There was a bit of panic if it wasn't their teamleader, but it wasn't; Hans Dekkers was the unlucky one.
Further, Ligthart got a puncture, and is dropped as well. The speed is up now with a jellow train pulling the pack to 4'40 at 65km.
The first attacker of the day, Brus, is now having trouble following the break. Back in the pack, the first riders are being dropped as well. With only 33km left, the riders are starting to get a bit nervous. Who'll be first to attack?
Well, we won't have to wait long for that answer; 30km left, and Thomas Dekker already launches an attack! Reus leads the pack now.
Gesink and Boom immediatly react. The favourites are going!
As Boom has the strongest attack, and Dekker the weakest with Gesink in between, a new wave is coming; Kroon, Weening, de Maar, Posthuma and Langeveld. Is this it already?
Boom now leads, followed by Posthuma and Gesink with Langeveld coming up. The other attackers are close behind, while the pack has given up; all team leaders are up front. One lap left.
In the decent, everthing gets back together, overtaking the break as well. Only Heijboer is left in front with still a 1'30 lead though. Mollema and Hopman are the first chasers with Kroon having to let go.
As Mollema joins the groupe, we have only 13km left but Heijboer remains 1'25 in the lead! Chasing are; Weening, Dekker, Veelers, Rijntjes, Gesink, Langeveld, Boom, Kavsek, De Maar, Mollema and Posthuma.
Heijboer vs. Dekker and Weening (who are the only chasers). 10.5km, 1'20.
7km; one minute; It is possible.
But as the chase groupe is about to split, De Maar and Gesink put in an attack. Could this be enough to bridge the gap?
Heijboer is in sigth, but De Maar is just pulling Heijboers teammate Gesink up front it seems.
3.5km; they come just shot to catch Heijboer - for now.
Langeveld is meanwhile trying to get Boom back up front, with Posthuma following thankfully. It could still be everyones race!
2km; De Maar presses on and takes the lead! Gesink in third position, Langeveld still chasing 30 seconds back.
As Gesink passes his teammate and starts the sprint, De Maar has a very small gap.
The finish is in sight for De Maar, with Boom leading the chase for fourth.
Gesink with one last jump???
No, Marc de Maar takes the Dutch Championship for AON Global!
2. Gesink 3. Heijboer 4. Boom
Dekker beats Posthuma to fifth, with Langeveld 7th.
So, Marc de Maar will be wearing the blue-white-red of the Dutch flag in the 2011 season!
Now it's time for the Time Trial championships. A 47km course, with two small hills and two time checks. Gesink, Dekker and Posthuma are the favourites, but there are more then enough good Dutch time trialists to challenge them.
On a pretty hilly first part (for Dutch standards), De Kort is the first one to set a proper time at the first check; 18'03. This will be a good time for comparison for other riders.
After a while though, that time is beaten by '25: It's Kai Reus coming through!
Shortly after, Van Winden equals Reus' time measured in seconds, but in hundreds he is sligthly faster! De Kort has meanwhile reached check 2, setting the fastest time by a mile there, and the first rider (Van der Hugenhaben) is just crossing the finish line, setting a time of 1h05'56".
De Kort set the new best time a little later; 1h03'57". At check two, we have a new rider popping up though; Scheunemann beats de Korts time there with 26 seconds! At check one, Van Winden still leads as he heads towards check 2. Furhtermore, Gesink and Boom are about to reach check one.
And Gesink sets a new best time at check one; 10 seconds faster then Van Winden, and 7 faster then Boom. Meanwhile, Reus has crushed the time(from Scheunemann) at check 2 by by 48 seconds!
As Scheunemann crosses the line, he is less then a second faster then De Kort. He must've hit the wall in the final few kilometers? Reus is coming up though.
And Reus indeed takes the lead, by a full minute! And it's looking better for him, since Gesink (passing Brus here) is now 5 seconds slowerr at check one!
With Dekker off, all favourites are now on their way. Van Winden has now reach the finish; in second place he is, 24 seconds slower then Reus.
At the first check, another Gazzetta rider is going a good job; Posthuma takes second, only 5 seconds behind Gesink.
Gesink is now reaching the finish. He had overtaken the Control Team rider Hoogerland before, but Robert is so tired now, that Johnny is able to take back his starting position in fron tof Gesink. Gesinks time? +'6 on Reus, second place!
Here comes Boom... but he's dissapointing; Third, 22 seconds slower.
Note that Dekker was only fifth at check one, 10 seconds down on Gesink there. Let's see if he does any better at check 2; A few minutes ago, Posthuma crossed here taking second place, 3 secs down on Reus. The answer; No. Dekker now takes fifth, 20 seconds down. So it now seems to be between Reus and Posthuma now, since noone else is faster at the checks, while everybody passed check one at least.
Joost gives it his all in the final kilometer. The seconds tic away... Dang, 14 seconds faster then Reus! Who's going to beat this time?
Almost catching Wielinga Dekker does a very good effort trying to beat that time... But it's so damn fast! Dekker goes third, +'18.
And that leaves us only with riders like Keizer and Elijzen to beat Posthuma, while none of the are in the top 5 at the checks. Or is it? Well, yes! Elijzen may still make this exciting as he takes 4th at check two, 17 seconds down on Reus, but 14 down on Posthuma.
And as he reached the finish, everybody holds their breath, Posthuma in particular... What's his time? 1h 02'45! But what was Posthuma's time???... 1h02'42! Joost still has it, but only by three seconds! Elijzen pulled of an amazing second half there!
Only three riders left now. It seems a done job for Joost.
And as Kavsek is the last to cross the line, no top 5 changes took place indeed. Joost Posthuma is the new Dutch Time Trial champion!
