Netherland's National Championships will be held in and around Kerkrade and a hilly circuit will make fore a 195km road race. A packed startlist with 24 ManGame-teams and 74 professionals will hopefully be another reason for some great Dutch racing!
4 local teams (UPC with two squads) will hope for some extra boost by riding on home turf. Project 1t4i will be the top-favorite anyway: with Gesink for both road race and timetrial, the mission is clear - grab the double!
Tough competition in both disciplines though: van der Hugenhaben (Koenigsegg), Dekker/Schreurs (Vueling), Hoogerland (Swedbank), Boom (Rothaus), Reus (UPC) or Weening (Gazelle) are just a few hoping to fool 1t4i's dominance.
The rather "easy" climbs could also well favor some fast finishers, so much depends on how selective the actual race will be.
3 riders made an early move, which is allowed by the bunch:
Tankink (WWE)
Greonewegen (UPC)
Van Baarle (Puma)
So UPC as the strongest team in numbers goes for a breakaway attempt (first), the three will be allowed a decent gap quickly.
Project 1t4i though shows it's colours at the front of the bunch quite early into the race and the team - with some support by Gazelle - looks in control of the situation:
the gap peaked at around 6-7 minutes, but is back to 3'45" with now about 60km remaining. And 1t4i's "train" is still going strong..
It's some other teams/riders trying to take advantage of one team working hard in the chase. With the early escapees leading by just a minute and 26km to go, we see a first serious attack:
Boom (Rothaus)
Dees (Festina) and
Eltink (Swedbank)
give it a go now that the breakaway is soon to be caught!
Boom and Eltink manage to bridge the gap quickly, but as soon as they caught up to the escapees (19km before finish), it's Tankink with another (desperate) move!
The bunch - still led by 1t4i - is just 20" in arrears by now, so no huge advantage for Boom/Eltink so far.
And also no luck for Tankink, who's swallowed by the hard chasing bunch a few moments later.. same goes for Boom/Eltink, obviously.
But the attacking goes on and it's again Dees, Boom and Eltink launching an attack 17km before finish! Better luck this time?
No, it's another empty-handed attempt by those three, who are reeled in quickly. Project 1t4i with a quite impressive performance of controlling the race so far!
Especially as it's a tough job - the attacking continues:
Weening (Gazelle)
Hoogerland (Swedbank) and
Dekker (Vueling)
are next in line with their maybe crucial move! 15km remaining, so quite a way to go!
And it's again a short-lived effort.. or at least no chance to establish a gap yet.. the race keeps being aggressive though and we see a well known name with another try:
Boom overtakes Dekker and Weening 12km before finish, trying to escape for the third time now!
He's just not meant to escape though: Boom is pulled back by Project 1t4i - yet again! With less than 10km remaining, the Dutch PT-team is still in control and the race settles down for the first time in a while..
Will we see more attempts or will the bunch (still 65 riders in the peloton) reach the finish alltogether? When is Gesink, for who his team works so hard, going to make his move?
Let's answer the first question (first): we do have more attacks!
8km to go and now van der Hugenhaben (Koenigsegg) makes his move, trying to soloing away from the pack!
And now to answer the question regarding Gesink: we do have a nasty crash!
Gesink falls on a tricky descent and just as the race is up on action again! This probably the worst case for both him and his team, which spent so much energy in controlling the race.
15 riders involved in the crash, eventually (cutting the bunch down to 43 riders) - most notable names:
The remaining 1t4i-riders would also drop back in order to get Gesink back.. a desperate attempt, most likely, with only a few kilometres to go and the pace being brutal now with van der Hugenhaben attacking!
Back to the front: will this crash and 1t4i out of contention now favor van der Hugenhaben and his solo-attempt?
Well, hard to say. But one thing is for sure: the group behind won't just stop chasing and is just 16" in arrears with now only 3km to go!
2km remaining and it's getting closer indeed:
van der Hugenhaben holds on to a 8"-gap, with a group of 17 riders putting some more pressure on him! Most notable names in the mix:
Schreurs (Vueling) and
Hoogerland (Swedbank), who both have a small advantage on the group,
Dekker (Vueling)
Van der Lijke, Goos (HTC)
Boom (Rothaus)
Westra, Weening, Minnard (Gazelle)
Mollema (Festina)
B Van Poppel (UPC) in the probably best positions behind.
And here for a better overview with just 1.5km to go:
van der Hugenhaben fights hard, but both Schreurs and also Hoogerland move forward and may close the gap soon!
The bunch behind (27 riders again, very close gaps) is well within striking distance, too..
Or not? Schreurs is now head-to-head with van der Hugenhaben as they enter the finishing stretch and final km!
Hoogerland seems to struggle and loses some ground, with the sprinting bunch still being a few seconds in arrears!
The situation looks almost the same with only 300metres to go, so it's a decision between
Schreurs and van der Hugenhaben, who are still head-to-head!
Hoogerland won't counter and two HTC-guys (Van der Lijke, Goos) desperately try to overtake at least him to grab a podium..
What a thrilling finish after a quite entertaining race: Maurice Schreurs attacked solo-leader van der Hugenhaben right in time and lungs in for a great victory!
van der Hugenhaben with a deserved 2nd, ahead of Hoogerland, who managed to hold off the sprinting bunch: a stunning 4-5 for HTC, with young gun Van der Lijke playing his strength impressively!
Tough luck for Boom (16th), Dees (13th) or Eltink (20th), who all suffered from their efforts to escape late in the race. Boom in particular, as the most aggressive rider today.
But of course there has been one huge drama: Gesink (40th), finishing 2 minutes behind Schreurs, and his crash.. his team, which worked so hard the whole day, decided to go all-for-Gesink after he fell.. really bad luck and of course a tough decision, too.
Road title/
Maurice Schreurs (Team Vueling Airlines)
Final Results/
1
Maurice Schreurs
Team Vueling Airlines
5h14'58
2
Robin van der Hugenhaben
Koenigsegg
s.t.
3
Johnny Hoogerland
Swedbank-PEAB
s.t.
4
Nick Van der Lijke
HTC Nieuwsblad
s.t.
5
Marc Goos
HTC Nieuwsblad
s.t.
6
Ricardo Van der Velde
Team Bacardi
s.t.
7
Marco Minnard
Team Gazelle
s.t.
8
Boy Van Poppel
Team UPC - Boehringer-Ingelheim
s.t.
9
Lieuwe Westra
Team Gazelle
s.t.
10
Bauke Mollema
Festina-Canal+
s.t.
11
Martijn Maaskant
Pokerstars.com
s.t.
12
Moreno Hofland
Team Gazelle
s.t.
13
Tim Dees
Festina-Canal+
s.t.
14
Stef Clement
Pokerstars.com
s.t.
15
Thomas Dekker
Team Vueling Airlines
s.t.
16
Lars Boom
Rothaus - Aegon
s.t.
17
Pieter Weening
Team Gazelle
s.t.
18
Jan Hopman
Team UPC - Boehringer-Ingelheim
s.t.
19
Michel Kreder
Swedbank-PEAB
s.t.
20
Theo Eltink
Swedbank-PEAB
s.t.
21
Michiel Elijzen
Team UPC - Boehringer-Ingelheim
s.t.
22
Martijn Keizer
VolksWagen-Mapei
s.t.
23
Ronan Van Zandbeek
Heineken presented by California Giant Berry Farms
s.t.
24
Piet Rooijakkers
Lotto - Cervelo
s.t.
25
Rob Ruijgh
Rothaus - Aegon
s.t.
26
Niki Terpstra
Pokerstars.com
s.t.
27
Bobbie Traksel
Team UPC - Boehringer-Ingelheim
s.t.
28
Yvo Kusters
HTC Nieuwsblad
s.t.
29
Daan Olivier
Rothaus - Aegon
s.t.
30
Sebastian Langeveld
Heineken presented by California Giant Berry Farms
s.t.
31
Coen Vermeltfoort
Lotto - Cervelo
s.t.
32
Jos Pronk
Swedbank-PEAB
s.t.
33
Kenny Van Hummel
Swedbank-PEAB
s.t.
34
Wouter Wippert
HTC Nieuwsblad
s.t.
35
Tom Dumoulin
Team Puma - SAP
s.t.
36
Bert-Jan Lindeman
Koenigsegg
s.t.
37
Tom Veelers
Team UPC - Boehringer-Ingelheim
s.t.
38
Arjen De Baat
Team UPC - Boehringer-Ingelheim
s.t.
39
Laurens Ten Dam
Project 1t4i
+ 2'06
40
Robert Gesink
Project 1t4i
s.t.
41
Ramon Sinkeldam
Project 1t4i
s.t.
42
Bas Giling
Project 1t4i
s.t.
43
Joost Posthuma
Project 1t4i
s.t.
44
Koen De Kort
Project 1t4i
s.t.
45
Jos Van Emden
Project 1t4i
s.t.
46
Wout Poels
Project 1t4i
s.t.
47
Wilco Kelderman
Team Puma - SAP
s.t.
48
Jetse Bol
Team Puma - SAP
s.t.
49
Kai Reus
Team UPC - Boehringer-Ingelheim
s.t.
50
Steven Kruijswijk
Team B&O
s.t.
51
Bob Schoonbroodt
Team UPC - Boehringer-Ingelheim
s.t.
52
Rik Kavsek
Team UPC - Boehringer-Ingelheim
s.t.
53
Dylan Groenewegen
Team UPC - Boehringer-Ingelheim
s.t.
54
Dylan Van Baarle
Team Puma - SAP
s.t.
55
Bram Tankink
Team WWE
s.t.
56
Michael Vingerling
Team WWE
s.t.
57
Marco Brus
Festina-Canal+
s.t.
58
Remco Broers
Team Bacardi
s.t.
59
Mike Teunissen
Team UPC - Boehringer-Ingelheim
s.t.
60
Dion Beukeboom
Team Bacardi
s.t.
61
Dennis Van Winden
ING Cycling - Project
s.t.
62
Niels Scheunemann
Team Vueling Airlines
s.t.
63
Geert Van der Sanden
Team UPC - Boehringer-Ingelheim
s.t.
64
Thomas Berkhout
Team UPC - Boehringer-Ingelheim
s.t.
65
Arne Hassink
Team UPC - Boehringer-Ingelheim
s.t.
66
Danny Van Poppel
Team UPC - Boehringer-Ingelheim
+ 4'20
67
Joost Van Leijen
Team UPC - Boehringer-Ingelheim
+ 5'11
68
Hans Dekkers
Allianz-BMW Cycling Team
s.t.
69
Roy Eefting
Mobil - Castrol Cycling
+ 6'19
70
Daan Rijntjes
Kenya Airways - Barclays
s.t.
71
Johim Ariesen
Pokerstars.com
s.t.
72
Pim Ligthart
Heineken presented by California Giant Berry Farms
The 40km flat timetrial is expected to be very close race, with several of the top-favorites able to perform on equal strength:
Gesink/Posthuma (1t4i) of course will hope for more luck this time, they face tough competition in Keizer (VW), Van Winden (ING), Reus (UPC), Dekker (Vueling) or maybe even Boom (Rothaus).. so many quality-TTlers here!
Thanks to Gesink being rated as one of the top-favorites, teammate Joost Posthuma (1t4i) has a quite early start and his time will be a nice indicator for all the remaining favorites:
it ain't surprising to see him crushing the (so far) rather weak competition and his new BT - 1h09'56" - may be the time to beat today.
Lars Boom (Rothaus) may have a shot at a good result on a very good day.. but let's keep it short - he doesn't stand a chance against Posthuma:
+ 58" for Boom, finishing as provisional 3rd (as UPC's Elijzen was almost 20" faster as new 2nd so far)!
UPC with another possible threat for the very top-favorites: Kai Reus. He had a better split-time than Boom, but is also chanceless against Posthuma:
+ 40" as new 3rd (so even behind teammate Elizen)!
Vueling may hope for Thomas Dekker to make it a Dutch-double after Schreurs taking the road title.. but yet again, he's quite far behind Posthuma, who obviously put up a great performance:
+ 26" as provisional 2nd!
And now for the remaining three top-favorites.. Van Winden (ING) is the first of this trio to hit the road and in order to make it more thrilling, we will have a look at the split-times from now on:
+ 4" for Van Winden halfway through the parcours! So he's the most dangerous competitor for Posthuma so far!
Will Robert Gesink (1t4i) bounce back from his road race-disaster/drama? At least he won't crash, that we can say already.. and he looks strong, too:
+ 3" on teammate Posthuma at the split!
So Posthuma still stands tall at the very top of the provisinoal time-table(s).. will Martijn Keizer (VW) changes this? At least for the split, he does.. not:
+ 2" as second-best at halftime!
So for a better overview, let's have a final look at the split: Posthuma, who's already at the finish for a while now, had the fastest first half!
Both the top-favorites Keizer and Gesink, as well as Van Winden, ain't too far behind - this makes for a thrilling decision!
So back to Van Winden.. the TT-specialist desperately tries to grab his victory.. will he gain back the seconds on Posthuma?
+ 7" as new 2nd! So no luck for Van Winden..
Gesink is next to cross the line.. no crash (as said before)... but no new BT either:
+ 6" on teammate Posthuma for new 2nd! Only one man could make this Road Nationals a complete disaster for 1t4i now..
Keizer looks to re-gain those 2" he was behind Posthuma.. both looked strong for the entire 40km.. of course they did! But will he grab the title?
+ 5" to finish 2nd! How close, but somehow deserved for Project 1t4i after the drama in the road race! Of course Posthuma was expected to be in the mix, but still an impressive performance!
Timetrial title/
Joost Posthuma (Project 1t4i)
Final Results/
1
Joost Posthuma
Project 1t4i
1h09'56
2
Martijn Keizer
VolksWagen-Mapei
+ 5
3
Robert Gesink
Project 1t4i
+ 6
4
Dennis Van Winden
ING Cycling - Project
+ 7
5
Thomas Dekker
Team Vueling Airlines
+ 26
6
Michiel Elijzen
Team UPC - Boehringer-Ingelheim
+ 31
7
Kai Reus
Team UPC - Boehringer-Ingelheim
+ 40
8
Lars Boom
Rothaus - Aegon
+ 58
9
Koen De Kort
Project 1t4i
+ 1'16
10
Stef Clement
Pokerstars.com
+ 1'18
11
Lieuwe Westra
Team Gazelle
+ 1'29
12
Tim Dees
Festina-Canal+
s.t.
13
Daan Rijntjes
Kenya Airways - Barclays
+ 1'54
14
Ronan Van Zandbeek
Heineken presented by California Giant Berry Farms
+ 1'56
15
Pim Ligthart
Heineken presented by California Giant Berry Farms
+ 1'58
16
Dion Beukeboom
Team Bacardi
+ 2'11
17
Niels Scheunemann
Team Vueling Airlines
+ 2'21
18
Tom Dumoulin
Team Puma - SAP
+ 2'25
19
Niki Terpstra
Pokerstars.com
+ 2'27
20
Jos Van Emden
Project 1t4i
+ 2'29
21
Steven Kruijswijk
Team B&O
s.t.
22
Wout Poels
Project 1t4i
+ 2'41
23
Jos Pronk
Swedbank-PEAB
+ 2'44
24
Yvo Kusters
HTC Nieuwsblad
+ 2'46
25
Ricardo Van der Velde
Team Bacardi
+ 2'58
26
Robin van der Hugenhaben
Koenigsegg
+ 2'59
27
Marc Goos
HTC Nieuwsblad
+ 3'01
28
Tom Veelers
Team UPC - Boehringer-Ingelheim
+ 3'03
29
Bauke Mollema
Festina-Canal+
+ 3'06
30
Martijn Maaskant
Pokerstars.com
+ 3'12
31
Joost Van Leijen
Team UPC - Boehringer-Ingelheim
+ 3'14
32
Marco Brus
Festina-Canal+
+ 3'28
33
Sebastian Langeveld
Heineken presented by California Giant Berry Farms
Netherland's National Championships will be held in and around Kerkrade and a hilly circuit will make fore a 195km road race. A packed startlist with 24 ManGame-teams and 74 professionals will hopefully be another reason for some great Dutch racing!
