Today 108 women started in Assen for a race of 156 kilometers. With little wind, 14°C and a sun, the weather gods were kind to the riders.
The first three passages over the Col du VAM resulted in no significant separations. The favorites kept each other and escape was almost impossible.
In the last 30 km some riders crashed after the peloton took the wrong exit at a roundabout. Lotte Kopecky and Lorena Wiebes punctured 20 km from the end. But both riders were able to return without too many problems.
After the last crossing of the Col du VAM, Sarah Roy, Nina Buysman,
Anouska Koster and Christine Majerus the wide sea. The four front runners were caught less than a kilometer from the finish.
Lorena Wiebes was next to none in the sprint. She started from afar, but Elisa Balsamo couldn’t beat her anymore. The Team DSM rider wins the Ronde van Drenthe for the second year in a row.
Lorena Wiebes won ahead of world champion Elisa Balsamo, our compatriot Lotte Kopecky was third.
“I had to finish it in the sprint, because my team led so strongly for me,” says winner Lorena Wiebes.
“I started sprinting early. But I wanted to go faster than Elisa Balsamo, so I had space on the left.”
“At the moment, Wiebes is the fastest of the entire peloton. I was actually not in the right position when starting the sprint and I actually already lost him there,” said the winner of the Strade Bianche.
