72 riders take to the start line for this rather unique national championships which involves a short cobbled section. It certainly isn't as challenging at the Muur which featured in this years World championships and what a world's it was for Holland. Winning the team time trial and then seeing Lars Boom hold off the reduced pack to take a memorable victory.
This course almost seems designed in tribute to that big moment and Dutch cycling is surely in its best help. Dark clouds though could be on the horizon as Jack Wolfskin threaten a mysterious new direction, with the young Koppert Cycling team absent from press conferences recently.
For the riders they know it is now or never to put themselves in the shop window.
Nine riders do just that getting clear early on.
Tom Jelte Slagter Lieuwe Westra Theo Eltink Niels Scheunemann Tim Dees Bram Tankink Dennis Van Winden Wilco Kelderman Menno Horst
are the nine the make up the break. Nice to see UPC here, though sadly thanks to a late shirt mess up (my own rubbish tech skills) they have to put up with a 'control' jersey. Still they have a man up here as do all the major teams.
Jack Wolfskin and Koppert move another of their numbers forward in Wim Stroetinga and Jos Van Emden
Bad luck befalls Jack Wolfskin here though as Van Emden slips in the wet conditions and falls back to the pack whilst Stroetinga pushes on to make it a break of ten.
Still Jack Wolfskin look to make the best of it sending Joost Posthuma forward with 170km to go.
Posthuma is certainly a strongman, credited with being one of the main players in the world team time trial triumph and certainly a mainstay of this incredible Jack Wolfskin chrono unit. Posthuma adds some real power then to the breakaway who with 150km remaining have a four minute lead.
It is Koppert then who have to take responsibility to monitor the lead despite having two men forward in the break.
The young Dutch team have had their moments this year particularly in small European stage races and some of the cobbled classics. Rob Ruijgh is also up here lending a hand for the off chance that Boom could win this race (though of course he will not take the national colours).
Up front we have just ten riders despite being joined by Posthuma the reason is that Tankirk has crashed out of it.
The diverse WWE squad mainly focussed on the America Tour this year, in the words of the infamous WWE chairman Tankirk has 'no chance in hell' of winning this one. Hell indeed it is proving to be as the break goes through this short 250m cobbled section. It is always Posthuma who leads out of it encouraging his breakaway companions to work hard.
70km to go then, the all important time check shows that Koppert have kept this sensible as it is measured at 5.30. Still a good gap and something for Posthuma and co to work with. However they lose one important member in Tim Dees does what Festina riders do best...
So nine men left in the break and their lead is down to 4.30 with 50km to go. Koppert are working really hard to pull this back, you scroll down their team list you see Tom Veelers and Hans Dekkers who would be dangerous from a sprint. Of course world champion Lars Boom is still lurking near the front also!
Posthuma can only get support from Eltink now as the others in the break look tired apart from the Koppert riders who are simply refusing their turns. Posthuma though seems to have the spirit of Boom.
With 40km left the gap is 3.30, Koppert still doing a good job of controlling the break. Under this pressure more riders hit the deck including Scheunemann from the break. Thus probably ending Spykers chances of defending this national title.
Also hitting the deck is another 'star' of a relegated Protour team 29 year old hill hater Theo Bos
Oh hello, what's this italics under the picture. Ahem here is Theo doing the Bosstroke
As he gets his lardy carcass off of the tarmac we go back to the front, 25km to go the gap to the now 8 man break is 2 minutes. Posthuma basically puts it all out there leading the eight round the next circuit almost all the way by himself. Again Eltink is the only rider who is willing or able to support.
They keep the lead going into the bell, just one 13km lap to go and the gap is still a minute.
Posthuma then still has half a chance, the pack though are favourites unless something catastrophic happens....
The Koppert riders hesitate slightly they are looking round to check on their sprinters - is this a fatal mistake?
Posthuma has no hesitation in responding to his instincts or perhaps the screams of his team manager in his ear piece/ team car. Only Eltink and Westra can follow the determined Jack Wolfskin rider.
Five kilometres left and the white Koppert train have got themselves sorted out, they still have 45 seconds to catch though...
Posthuma almost cannot believe he still is clear, we don't believe he has any energy left. Westra has done very few turns but is struggling to keep with the ever pounding away Posthuma. Eltink is pluckily going on as he always does.
Briefly it looks like Posthuma has got a gap but Westra shuts it down as we go into the last slightly uphill kilometre.
Back we shouldn't forget about the pack now just 20 or so seconds back (having mopped up the other breakaways) led by young Michael Vingerling.
He is battling Veelers for the front but they are not closing on the lead three fast enough. Westra like his Koppert teammates cannot close enough on Posthuma either.
An emotional win here for Posthuma who has produced a sensational solo effort to take his national title.
Vingerling leads the pack home, what might have been for the youngster.
The Dutch decide to use the Cauberg as part of the time trial - I wonder where they got that idea from? As you might expect from the all star team time trial squad there is a number of competitors for this one. The Dutch are almost obsessive about this discipline.
First we have Dennis Van Winden a young man seemingly breed for pure power time trialling. The Cauberg hill is a bit of torture for the 25 year old but his time for this course of 65.30 is a very good one.
Here comes Joost Posthuma just a great talent surely the Jack Wolfskin team boss cannot be thinking of letting him go?
He manages to beat Van Winden's time by setting 64.58.
Huge cheers for the new Road Race world champion Lars Boom
But in his favoured discipline he falles 40 seconds short of his friend and rival Posthuma. Bring on his Continental Tour rival Kai Reus these two have been tearing up the time trials across the world this year.
But Reus is on a off day - so many times this has happened to Volkswagen riders this year - and can only set 66.13.
Perhaps an off day is a bit harsh as the Cauberg based course is not quite suiting the stage race specialists as some thought it would.
Mr. 'Can I really be riding the Tour of Langkawi next year' Thomas Dekker sets 66.12.
Robert Gesink is having an identity crisis. Is he a chrono man? a stage racer? or a classics man?
He is definately NOT the Dutch TT champion, he in fact is third on the Jack Wolfskin books with 65.37.
Finally we have that young new stage racing hope Martijn Keizer.
But he has only offered occasional glimpses of his potential all year and today he is one of those not quite as good as he perhaps should be days. 65.56 is good enough for 5th.
