For anybody who cares about women's cycling, it's very easy to feel miserable at the moment - we've just had news that another race has been cancelled, the prizes on offer at the majority of the races are a joke compared to what the men win (and frequently about the same amount the riders could earn for putting in a full week in a fast food restaurant, provided they got a bit of overtime) and the salaries they receive (those who are lucky enough to receive salaries, that is; which is why some of them have to put in a full week in a fast food restaurant and hope for a bit of overtime) are quite frankly an insult in many cases. Be thankful, then, that this week brings us that celebration of all things good in women's cycling, the Festival Luxembourgeois Elsy Jacobs.
Combined, this is a two stage race with a TT prologue. However, in the Elsy Jacobs each stage is a race within its own right to a far greater extent than in any other event and every day has an entirely different feel to the others. The prologue has the feel of a party, not least of all because it takes place in the evening on a 1.7km parcours on Luxembourg city - and as that parcours is both stupendously fast and passes by some of the city's most vibrant bars, it's a full-on party in celebration of speed.
Stage 1 follows the famous parcours of the GP Elsy Jacobs, the one-day race named in honour of the world's first Women's Road Race World Champion and from which this festival grew. It heads north out of Garnich, Jacobs' hometown, then follows a 53.6km loop up to Mersch and back to Garnich again where riders complete five laps of a 9.8km circuit. Those in the know say that it's impossible to predict how this race will end, and more than once the fates have conspired to allow a relative unknown to take the glory.
Stage 2, named in honour of twelve-time National Champion and twice winner of the Tour de France Nicolas Frantz, uses the same 53.6km loop as Stage 1 but this time sets off from Frantz's hometown Mamer, ending with five 8.9km circuits through the narrow streets.
It's sometimes difficult to follow women's races as many simply don't have the budget to provide the sort of coverage many men's events enjoy - which is, of course, a serious problem for the sport. However, this one rivals the Grand Tours with an expertly-designed website that provides full details of the three courses, results and just about everything else a fan might wish to know.
One day, all women's races will be like this - but the Festival will always be unique, and there really is no other race quite like it.
Argos-Shimano has announced via its website that Anne de Wildt has decided to retire from competition. "I find it increasingly difficult to motivate myself for training and races," says the rider. "Because of that I can’t provide what is required and, therefore, I have decided to end my career as a rider with Team Skil-Argos."
Now aged 22, de Wildt's early career showed great promise with overall victory at the Tour of Usquert and a stage win and second place overall at the Irish Rás na mBan in 2008, which saw her move int the upper echelons of women's cycling. 2011 brought some good results including five top ten finishes, but she hasn't been able to dd anything in 2012 - which has, presumably, contributed to her disillusionment.
"Of course we regret that Anne is going to stop, but we respect her choice," says Argos team leader Sharon van Essen. A popular rider in her native Netherlands, de Wildt will be missed by fans too. She will now concentrate on her nursing career.
Emma Pooley (AA Drink-Leontien.nl) was forced to abandon the Fleche Wallonne Femmes after her gears apparently broke twice, a third mechanical problem and three crashes. In the first, she went down along with several other riders but was unhurt; in the second, she collided with a rider who had unexpectedly stopped, breaking her deraileur and while beginning to feel rather battered could continue on a spare bike; in the third. another rider collided with her and she was thrown to the ground, then a motorbike ran over her bike and damaged it beyond repair (AA Drink-Leontien.nl report here). Eye witnesses say she was bleeding as she climbed the Muur for the last time, but she's said to have only very minor injuries (updates as soon as possible). Faren-Honda's Nicole Cooke is reported to have abandoned "after a few kilometres."
Marianne Vos, four-time winner of this race, looked set to repeat her previous success after taking the lead on the final climbed of the infamous Muur to the finish line after a five-rider break formed with 15km to go and managed to join up with Linda Villumsen, Clara Hughes and Lucinda Brand. However, she was surprised in the last 30m by Evelyn Stevens who suddenly appeared from behind her and powered past to the line looking as though she had a rocket under her saddle - an absolutely superb win for the American rider and as good as a big tick next to her name on the Olympic selection list.
Evelyn Stevens, now with
Specialized-Lululemon
Women's Top Ten
1. Evelyn Stevens (Specialized-Lululemon) 3h26'32"
2. Marianne Vos (Rabobank) +4"
3. Linda Villumsen (GreenEDGE) +20"
4. Lucinda Brand (AA Drink-Leontien.nl) +27"
5. Ashleigh Moolman (Lotto Ladies-Belisol) +41"
6. Judith Arndt (GreenEDGE) ST
7. Megan Guarnier (TIBCO) +44"
8. Clara Hughes (Specialized-Lululemon) +48"
9. Emma Johansson (Hitec Products-Mistral Home) ST
10. Karol-Ann Canuel (Vienne Futurscope) +51"
Best Brit: 20. Sharon Laws (AA Drink-Leontien.nl) +1'10" (Top 40)
The women's race is, of course, the fourth round of the Women's Road World Cup. The standings after today look like this:
Emma Pooley (AA Drink-Leontien.nl) was forced to abandon the Fleche Wallonne Femmes after her gears apparently broke twice, a third mechanical problem and a crash (other rumours say three crashes). Spectators at the race have said on Twitter that the crash was caused when she was hit by a motorbik, though this is as of yet unconfirmed. Eye witnesses say she was bleeding as she climbed the Muur for the last time, but she's said to have only very minor injuries (updates as soon as possible). Faren-Honda's Nicole Cooke is reported to have abandoned "after a few kilometres."
Marianne Vos, four-time winner of this race, looked set to repeat her previous success after taking the lead on the final climbed of the infamous Muur to the finish line after a five-rider break formed with 15km to go and managed to join up with Linda Villumsen, Clara Hughes and Lucinda Brand. However, she was surprised in the last 30m by Evelyn Stevens who suddenly appeared from behind her and powered past to the line looking as though she had a rocket under her saddle - an absolutely superb win for the American rider and as good as a big tick next to her name on the Olympic selection list.
Evelyn Stevens, now with
Specialized-Lululemon
Women's Result
1. Evelyn Stevens (Specialized-Lululemon)
2. Marianne Vos (Rabobank)
3. Linda Villumsen (GreenEDGE)
4. Lucinda Brand (AA Drink-Leontien.nl)
5. Ashleigh Moolman (Lotto Ladies-Belisol)
6. Judith Arndt (GreenEDGE)
7. Megan Guarnier (TIBCO)
8. Clara Hughes (Specialized-Lululemon)
9. Emma Johansson (Hitec Products-Mistral Home)
10. Karol-Ann Canuel (Vienne Futurscope) (Top 40)
Urgent: Calling all British female cyclists
The Balfron Women's Open Road Race is in danger of being cancelled due to low numbers of riders signing up - and it's open to all female cyclists (provided they either hold a British Cycling racing licence or purchase a day licence), not only those eligible to race in Scottish Championships - details on eligibility here.
The race is due to take place on the 20th of May in the Stirlingshire town (56° 4'18.56"N 4°20'14.29"W) and consists of six laps of an 11km circuit beginning at 09:30. The official race website is here and entry details are here.
I honestly never wanted this race to end - the riding has been absolutely first rate, the outcome was totally unexpected and with the short, spectator-and-TV friendly circuit courses and excellent online coverage the organisers have done more for women's cycling in only five days than many organisations have achieved in five years; so congratulations on an absolutely first rate job by all the riders and everyone else involved. It looks very much as though a holiday to north-east Nederland is on the cards in April 2013.
Many fans expected Specialized-Lululemon to get Ina-Yoko Teutenberg up to the front in order to hammer home her General Classification victory today and for Rabobank to come together in a serious attempt to propel Marianne Vos back up to the top, but this stage turned out to be all about the lesser-known riders - a number of whom finished within the top ten after a series of effective breaks throughout the race. Meanwhile, Lululemon kept out of the limelight and concentrated on getting Teutenberg to where she needed to be; their clever riding leaving no doubt whatsoever that the GC was hers.
Nicole Cooke (Faren-Honda) scored a superb stage win five years to the day since she won the Ronde van Vlaanderen voor Vrouwen, powering to the line and gaining a 2" lead over a pursuing group made up of Eveyn Arys (2nd, Kleo), Sarah Düster (Rabobank), Megan Guarnier (TIBCO) and Marieke Van Wanroij (AA-Drink-Leontien.nl) - a much-needed boost for the Welsh rider after a few difficult years in the wake of an illness that badly knocked her performance.
Stage 5
1. Nicole Cooke Faren-Honda 03:27:05
2. Evelyn Arys Kleo +2"
3. Sarah Düster Rabobank ST 4. Megan Guarnier Team TIBCO ST 5. Marieke Van Wanroij AA Drink-Leontien.nl ST 6. Josien Van Wingerden Specialized Dpd SRAM +4" - 7. Jennifer Wheeler Team TIBCO ST 8. Chloe Mcconville +16" 9. Amy Pieters Skil-Argos +2'19" 10. Judith Jelsma WV De Noord-Westhoek ST
Stage 4a
Strong winds caused havoc and high speeds in equal amounts during the five laps of the Winsum circuit, splitting the pack into seven distinct groups at one point. A group of 17 escaped and was gradually whittled down to 11; but with the likes of Visser (Skil-Argos), Gunnewijk(GreenEDGE), Arndt (GreenEDGE), Kasper (RusVelo), Van Dijk (Specialized-Lululemon), Worrack (Specialized-Lululemon), Wild (AA Drink Leontien.nl), Blaak (AA Drink Leontien.nl), Slappendel (Rabobank) and Vos (Rabobank) onboard, their lead just kept on increasing - as they entered the final lap, they had 8'03" on the chasers and didn't show any signs of taking it easy.
Kirsten Wild mounted a solo attack after coming within 2km of the finish line with Trixi Worrack and then Marianne Vos responding - however, neither could catch her and she crossed the line solo. Worrack dropped off and was replaced by Ina-Yoko Teutenberg (Specialized-Lululemon) who once again powered past for second and left Vos, who retains her leadership in the General Classification) to take third.
Stage 4b, taking place this afternoon, is a 26.5km team time trial that is expected to prove pivotal in the eventual outcome of the race.
Top Ten
1. Kirsten Wild AA Drink-Leontien.nl 01:42:25
2. Ina Yoko Teutenberg Specialized-Lululemon 00:07
3. Marianne Vos Rabobank ST 4. Judith Arndt GreenEDGE ST 5. Ellen Van Dijk Specialized-Lululemon ST 6. Adrie Visser Skil-Argos ST 7. Romy Kasper RusVelo ST 8. Loes Gunnewijk GreenEDGE ST 9. Chantal Blaak AA Drink-Leontien.nl ST 10. Trixi Worrack Specialized-Lululemon ST
Stage 4b
Specialized-Lululemon win the Team Time Trial, GreenEDGE second and Rabobank third, Ina-Yoko Teutenberg (Specialized-Lululemon) takes General Classification leadership from Marianne Vos (Rabobank).
Follow the official race Twitter @ewachttour for details during each stage and information on the race. Local TV RTL7 is broadcasting a short highlights show daily, with the Stage 4a edition being at 14:30 BST (+1 hour for local time/CEST). Stage 4b and 5 will be shown on Sunday, also at 14:30.
Stage 4a (Saturday 7th) both starts and ends at Winsum, a town sometimes termed the treasure of the north according to the Tour website - with two traditional Dutch mills and what is reputed to be The Netherlands' oldest pub (Der Gouden Karper) set among quintessentially Dutch countryside.
The parcours leaves Winsom to the north, travelling up to Baflo and then taking a long, fast loop west and south-west to Mensingeweer. Next, it heads east along a road called the Wildeveldseweg (which must sound fantastic in a Dutch accent). Just visible to the south-west from this point is Ezinge, the oldest continually-inhabited village in the country.
Long before the ancient tribes who would become the Dutch worked out how to drain the boggy landscape, they would create artificial islands upon which to live (now known as terps and, since drainage, resembling low hills) - the example at Ezinge is still evident and is now occupied by the village's 13th Century church. During the early 20th Century, worked who dug peat for fuel began finding strange objects that were obviously of great age in the area, soon attracting the attention of archaeologists who found many more - including Roman artifacts and part of a sword almost identical to another dicovered at the Sutton Hoo ship burial in Great Britain. By dating the objects, they determined that people have lived in Ezinge since at least 600BCE, making it among the oldest continually-inhabited villages anywhere in Europe. The riders will complete five laps of the route, which should allow Ezinge to be seen even if there is early morning mist, bringing them up to a total of 76.6km.
Stage 4b, the team time trial, takes place on Saturday afternoon and covers 26.5km, beginning at Veendam some way off to the south-east from 4a. After beginning in the centre of the town on JG Pinksterstraat (53° 6'19.91"N 6°52'27.74"E), the teams pass through the streets and cross the canal, then the N33 motorway as they head into the flat fields. A route made up of fast straights punctuated with 25 bends and corners will make for a fast stage, but one in which a slower rider could very easily be dropped off the back of the squad and never find her way back. When they arrive at Oude Pekela, they follow Feiko Clockstraat into town, then turn left to arrive at the finish on Raadhuislaan (53° 6'17.39"N 7° 0'24.65"E).
Marianne Vos has pointed out that Stage 4b is likely to prove the pivotal point in the campaign of any rider - including herself - who hopes to win this race, because a race leader's General Classification advantage can very rapidly be wiped out by a slow team. For fans and rivals, this is our first opportunity to see how well the Rabobank Women's team, which was formed with the express intention of supporting Vos, performs under team time trial race conditions; making this stage one of the most important races so far this season.
Cyclopunk's prediction: GreenEDGE take the stage, but with an insufficient advantage to knock Marianne off the top spot in the GC
Weather: The riders face a chilly start to the day - it's currently only 4C at Baflo, and with a northerly wind of 25kph it feels more like -2C, possibly -4C in exposed places. At present, it's raining lightly - it should dry up later, but further showers are likely. Veendam looks set to be similar, though afternoon temperatures of 7C will at least feel above freezing though not by much, perhaps 3C.
As ever, the best way to get information during the race is by following the official Twitter @ewacttour, hashtag #EWT12 and @richiesteege.Local TV RTL7 is broadcasting a short highlights show daily: Stage 4a will be shown at 14:45 BST (+1 hour for local time/CEST), Stage 4b will be shown along with Stage 5 tomorrow at the same time.
Another day full of attacks, breaks and serious high speed with the pack splitting apart then coming back together time and time again as they completed six laps around the Oldambtmeer lake in the north-western corner of the Netherlands.
Irina Molicheva was star of the show and earned the respect of her RusVelo team sponsors after making an impressive attempt at a solo break and briefly gaining an advantage of 15" before a group of seven chasers went after her and brought her back tot he bunch. Around 30 riders led by Chantal Blaak (AA Drink-Leontien.nl), Kirsten Wild (AA Drink-Leontien.nl), Adrie Visser (Skil-Argos) and Loes Gunnewijk (GreenEDGE) got away with 25km to go, then the result seemed narrowed down to a choice of four when Judith Arndt (GreenEDGE), Visser, Annemiek van Vleuten (Rabobank) and Emilia Fahlin (Specialized-Lululemon) split off when the end came within 8km.
However, they too were caught rapidly as the peloton began the last approach to the finish line and Marianne Vos (Rabobank), Ina-Yoko Teutenberg (Specialized-Lululemon) and Kirsten Wild began a three-woman duel. Many will have been expecting Vos to win, but it was Teutenberg who had the explosive power needed to take the sprint as she nudged Vos into second and take her second consecutive victory.
Vos continues to lead the General Classification, increasing her advantage to 32". (More to come...)
1. Ina Yoko Teutenberg Specialized-Lululemon 02h41'09"
2. Marianne Vos Rabobank ST
3. Kirsten Wild AA Drink-Leontien.nl ST 4. Laura Van Der Kamp Dolmans-Boels ST 5. Evelyn Arys Kleo ST 6. Romy Kasper RusVelo ST 7. Leah Kirchmann ST 8. Adrie Visser Skil-Argos ST 9. Rochelle Gilmore Faren-Honda Team ST 10. Anna Van Der Breggen Sengers ST (Full results)
Follow the official race Twitter @ewachttour for details during each stage and information on the race. Local TV RTL7 is broadcasting a short highlights show daily, today's being at 16:45 BST (+1 hour for local time/CEST).
Stage 3 (Friday 6th) consists of six laps of an 18.4km circuit around the Oldambtmeer lake (53°10'16.18"N 7° 1'31.82"E). It begins on Hoofdstraat by a church (53°11'40.37"N 7° 0'36.38"E), then heads briefly south before rounding the southern edge of the water. At 800 hectares, Oldambtmeer is one of the largest lakes in the Netherlands and is completely artificial, having been created as part of an environmentally sustainable project that includes Blauwestad, a new village designed specifically to encourage bicycle use - since the Dutch in the rest of the country are already well and truly in love with the bike, it seems likely that the locals here are going to turn out in huge numbers to see the race.
After passing between the two smaller lakes on the western side, the riders follow the road along the southern banks and then turn north onto the N967. They arrive at Oostwold and then head west along Huningaweg, back to Hoofdstraat and on to the finish line located at the same point they started. It's another very flat parcours, with a straight and slightly downhill initial section that will promote fast starts and, as was the case yesterday, encourage breaks - if a group of favourites forms in the early part of the race again, they could easily dominate the race. If they don't, expect attacks aplenty from the lesser-known riders - and a concerted effort from the big guns as they pull them back in the final lap.
Marianne Vos (Rabobank) prefers a twistier parcours but since she excels on any route, chances are she'll retain and probably increase her General Classification lead today. The stage will in all likelihood finish with a large group crossing the line together, which means that with the 2.5km, ever-so-slightly uphill final section between Oostwold and the church it'll be the powerful sprinters such as Lizzie Armitstead and Kirsten Wild (both AA Drink-Leontien.nl) who are the ones to watch.
Note: Oldambtmeer is an important nature reserve - if you're fortunate enough to be at the race or to have access to footage, look out for the spoonbills which nest in the reeds at this time of year.
The weather's not looking bad for the stage with sunshine expected for at least part of the day. However, there's a reasonably high chance of light showers and although it won't be windy the temperature as the race begins will feel cold at 6C. Maximum temperature today will be about 9C.
Follow the official race Twitter @ewachttour for details during each stage and information on the race. Local TV RTL7 is broadcasting a short highlights show daily, today's edition being at 16:45 BST (+1 hour for local time/CEST).
As expected on the flat Bad Nieuweschans parcours, today's 107.3km stage was dominated by a group of fast riders who escaped the peloton away early on - and since that break included the likes of Adrie Visser, Iris Slappendel, Annemiek van Vleuten, Marianne Vos and 18 other fast favourites, the rest of the field really had no chance at all of sending a rider up to win this one.
Sofie Verdonck (Dura Vermeer-Zuidwesthoek) and Sandra van Veghal (Specialized-DPD-SRAM) had what looked to be a nasty crash, race organisers later noticing a wing mirror missing from a car parked at the side of the road which seems a likely cause. There's no information on their well-being as of yet, but it'll be added here as soon as possible.
With the 22 leaders off up the road, the field began to break apart as the race progressed and gradually formed into several distinct groups. The second pack arrived at the finish 3'44" behind the leaders, then the third 6'02" with various riders coming in either alone, in pairs or in groups afterwards
Rabobank's Marianne Vos now leads
the General Classification
First over the line Ina-Yoko Teutenberg (Specialized-Lululemon), beating Kirsten Wild (AA Drink-Leontien.nl) and Marianne Vos (Rabobank) in a fast and furious sprint - Teutenberg's first win of the year and the latest in what has been a fantastic first season for an already great team. Vos - who only recovered from 'flu a day or two before this race began, remember - now moves into overall leadership.
Top Ten
1. Ina Yoko Teutenberg Specialized-Lululemon 02:35:50
2. Kirsten Wild AA Drink-Leontien.nl ST
3. Marianne Vos Rabobank ST 4. Adrie Visser Skil-Argos ST 5. Elizabeth Armitstead AA Drink-Leontien.nl ST 6. Laura Van Der Kamp Dolmans-Boels ST 7. Ellen Van Dijk Team Specialized- ululemon ST 8. Romy Kasper RusVelo ST 9. Annemiek Van Vleuten Rabobank ST 10. Trixi Worrack Specialized-Lululemon ST
Follow the official race Twitter @ewachttour for details during each stage and information on the race. Local TV RTL7 is broadcasting a short highlights show daily, today's being at 16:45 BST (+1 hour for local time/CEST).
The organisers of the 2012 Exergy Tour - due to take place in Idaho, USA from the 24th to the 28th of May - have managed to put together a women's prize fund of $100,000. It's believed to be the largest pot in the history of women's professional cycling - note that the prize fund for the women's race at Gent-Wevelgem was €1000 ($1,314.20) in total.
“One of the primary reasons we founded the Exergy Tour is to help gain notoriety and exposure for the advancement of women’s professional cycling and to encourage media, corporate sponsors, governing bodies, spectators and fans to recognize the value of women’s competitive athletics,” said James Carkulis, CEO of Exergy Development Group, the race's main sponsor. “Offering a significant payout for this race elevates the excitement to a level equal in stature to men’s pro cycling. Our hope is for the Exergy Tour to bring opportunities for both marketing and the media to open up more possibilities for women’s cycling in the USA and abroad.” (More from PRWeb)
It's good to see a sponsor put their money where their mouth is in supporting women's cycling!
Energiewacht Tour Stage 1
For 2012, the women's Energiewacht Tour has grown to five days - a promising sign in these times when so many races are disappearing for lack of sponsorship or, worse, interest. There's not much in the way of hills in this part of the world (in fact, at a few points along the way the riders will be below sea level), which makes some people think it won't be an interesting race; however, that couldn't be further from the truth - flat stages such as these promote breakaways and attacks, leading to a fast and furious sort of race.
Stage 1 proved this to be very much the case as riders set new best times, other riders smashed them and the process repeated itself time and time again. Clara Hughes (Specialized-Lululemon) set the benchmark at 19'52" early on in the 15.1km individual time trial and remained the fastest for some time. Alexis Rhodes (GreenEDGE) made a lightning fast start and looked set to smash it, but she slowed after passing through Garrelsweer and left Hughes' time intact. It took no less a rider than Olympic Champion Kristin Armstrong (USA) to finally top it, which earned her first place for the stage - and the fact current TT World Champion Judith Arndt (GreenEdge), last year's winner Adrie Visser (Skil-Argos) and Marianne Vos all finished with slower times shows just how much of an effort she put in. (See the podium here)
Top 6
1. Kristin Armstrong USA 19'42"
2. Clara Hughes Specialized-Lululemon +10"
3. Marianne Vos Rabobank +13" 4. Ina Yoko Teutenberg Specialized-Lululemon +45" 5. Ellen Van Dijk Specialized-Lululemon ST 6. Judith Arndt GreenEDGE ST
Local TV RTL7 is broadcasting a short highlights show daily, today's being at 16:45 BST (+1 hour for local time/CEST). Follow @ewachttour for regular updates.
The first women's stage race of the European season, Energiwacht Tour begins on Wednesday the 4th of April at Appingdam in Groningnen. It's not an especially well-known race outside the Netherlands and the world of women's cycling; however, since it brings together the very cream of the crop for six stages (one split), it ought to be: the 2011 edition, won by Adrie Visser, was one of the highlights of the season. Take a look at the placings - with riders such as those finishing in the top 20, it was top-notch racing all the way.
Fast and furious - last year's edition
This year, the race has grown to five days - a promising sign in these times when so many races are disappearing for lack of sponsorship or, worse, interest. There's not much in the way of hills in this part of the world (in fact, at a few points along the way the riders will be below sea level), which makes some people think the race will be boring. That couldn't be further from the truth - flat stages such as these promote breakaways and attacks, leading to a fast and furious sort of race, and with a large field of well-matched riders we can expect some very exciting competition. In the final stage, we're likely to see a different sort of racing in which good team trial tactics work well: it's a parcours made up of several very long, very straight and very fast sections where the best plan is also the simplest - stick with the team, get your head down and concentrate on turning the pedals. A full list of the teams and riders (subject to change - Martine Bras and Irene van den Broek definitely won't be there) is available here.
So, unless you only like mountains, this race pretty much has everything covered. Unfortunately, there seems to be no live coverage of the race but video may appear online after each stage - if it does, it'll be added to the daily stage reports on this blog. Local TV station RTL7 has some limited coverage, details can be found at the bottom of this article.
Stage 1 (Wednesday 6th) is a 15.1km individual time trial heading west out of Appingdam (53°19'13.91"N 6°50'48.52"E) and through the flat pastureland to Garrelsweer (53°18'48.25"N 6°47'0.82"E) where it turns east to head back, following the canal past some grand country houses. With good roads and no hills, it promises to be a very fast parcours indeed - definitely territory for the time trial specialists.
Stage 2 (Thursday 7th) starts and ends at Bad Nieuweschans (53°10'60.00"N 7°11'60.00"E). It takes us further out into the countryside, covering 107.3km over four circuits of the route and making a sortie over the border into Germany. Once again, there are no hills, which makes this an ideal parcours for a breakaway - a group of fast riders who manage to get away early on and keep going might just succeed in escaping the peloton for the rest of the race, but with the flat run to the finish they'll have their work cut out for them as the stage reaches its climax.
Stage 3 (Friday 6th) consists of six laps of an 18.4km circuit around the Oldambtmeer lake (53°10'16.18"N 7° 1'31.82"E). It begins on Hoofdstraat by a church (53°11'40.37"N 7° 0'36.38"E), then heads briefly south before rounding the southern edge of the lake. When at the eastern end, they turn north and follow the N967 to Oostwold and then west along Huningaweg, back to Hoofdstraat and on to the finish line located at the same point they started. It's another very flat parcours, with a straight and slightly downhill initial section that will promote fast starts and encourage breaks. If they don't, expect attacks aplenty - especially in the last lap as the riders try to gain an upper hand before it's too late.
Stage 4a (Saturday 7th) both starts and ends at Winsum, a town sometimes termed the treasure of the north according to the Tour website - with two traditional Dutch mills and what is reputed to be The Netherlands' oldest pub (Der Gouden Karper) set among quintessentially Dutch countryside. The parcours leaves Winsom to the north, travelling up to Baflo and then taking a long, fast loop west and south-west to Mensingeweer. Next, it heads east along a road called the Wildeveldseweg (which must sound fantastic in a Dutch accent). Just visible to the south-west from this point is Ezinge, the oldest continually-inhabited village in the country. Long before the ancient tribes who would become the Dutch worked out how to drain the boggy landscape, they would create artificial islands upon which to live (now known as terps and, since drainage, resembling low hills) - the example at Ezinge is still evident and is now occupied by the village's 13th Century church. During the early 20th Century, worked who dug peat for fuel began finding strange objects that were obviously of great age in the area, soon attracting the attention of archaeologists who found many more - including Roman artifacts and part of a sword almost identical to another dicovered at the Sutton Hoo ship burial in Great Britain. By dating the objects, they determined that people have lived in Ezinge since at least 600BCE, making it among the oldest continually-inhabited villages anywhere in Europe. The riders will complete five laps of the route, which should allow Ezinge to be seen even if there is early morning mist, bringing them up to a total of 76.6km.
Stage 4b takes place on Saturday afternoon, a 26.5km team time trial located at Veendam some way off to the south-east from 4a. After beginning in the centre of the town on JG Pinksterstraat (53° 6'19.91"N 6°52'27.74"E), the teams pass through the streets and cross the canal, then the N33 motorway as they head into the flat fields. A route made up of fast straights punctuated with 17 right-angled bends and corners will make for a fast stage, but one in which a slower rider could very easily be dropped off the back of the squad and never find her way back. When they arrive at Oude Pekela, they follow Feiko Clockstraat into town, then turn left to arrive at the finish on Raadhuislaan (53° 6'17.39"N 7° 0'24.65"E).
Stage 5 (Sunday 8th) covers 103.3km in total with riders completing three laps of a parcours made up of numerous long, flat stretches with sharp bends between them - not dissimilar to an extended version of Stage 4b, in fact, and almost a stage for a sprinter. The riders set out from the museum in Fraeylemaborg along a street lined with the sort of houses that in the USA are called Dutch Colonial (and here, presumably, "Dutch") and then almost immediately comes to a tight and, by the looks of it, potentially slippery left corner - with the peloton still closely packed just metres from the start, this is a point with an obvious likelihood of accidents. A road called Schlocterdiep leads to a village, Denemarken, and over a canal into a short twisty section before arriving at Eemskanaal. From this point, the route is almost entirely arrow-straight and pancake flat (well, near enough - according to Aerodata International Surveys there are a number of "hills" as high as 80cm along the way!) - this is the sort of road where clever tactics make little difference and everything comes down to which rider, or more likely which team since this is ideal territory for drafting, can ride the fastest. With the left turn at the end out of the way, the remainder of the circuit is formed of a pair of long, fast U shaped roads leading through Harkstede and to the finish line, which is 16.6km away where the stage began.
Predictions
2011 winner Adrie Visser, now riding for Skil-1t4i (image credit: Highroad Sports)
At this end of the race, it seems hard to see past Rabobank, probably the most well-drilled team in women's cycling right now - especially since the team reported on Tuesday afternoon that Marianne Vos has recovered from the illness that kept her away from the Ronde van Vlaanderen and will be back for this race. We've seen that this is a parcours that favours attacks and sprints, and when it comes down to transmitting sheer power through the chain and back wheel into the road, Vos is without equal. Rabo hasn't put all its eggs in one musette, either - should Vos be forced to abandon, Iris Slappendel and Annemiek van Vleuten are more than capable of taking the race. AA Drink-Leontien.nl are a squad worth watching too, as would be any team that was sending both lightning fast Lizzie Armitstead and Kirsten Wilde. Specialized-Lululemon have Ina-Yoko Teutenberg, another experienced rider who specialises in power, and Clara Hughes - anyone who rememebers Hughes' spectacular solo break at the Copenhagen World Championships will not be surprised if she picks up points and perhaps even a stage win. GreenEDGE have been on a winning streak since the start of the season and with Loes Gunnewijk (second place last year) and Judith Arndt onboard, that state of affairs may continue. Nicole Cooke of Faren-Honda is another rider who is very good at riding bikes very fast - she too is likely to do well. Finally, Skil-1t4i, the team led by last year's winner Adrie Visser.
To sum up, Vos is top choice (just as she is in any race, regardless of the terrain); but there are numerous riders who will chase her all the way - and when conditions are right, each of them is capable of performing exceptionally well.
RTL7 coverage
Note times are CET - minus 1 hour for BST (image credit:Energiwacht Tour)
