Ronde van Appelscha

Parcours (click to enlarge)

05.08 Official site
Netherlands, National, Criterium


Appelscha, Ooststellingwerf, Friesland (home to the Netherlands' only witches school, apparently). 0.95km parcours, flat.

There are few races that indicate just how popular cycling is in the Netherlands than this one: it takes place around a housing estate - if somebody tried to do that in Britain it'd result in complaints, angry letters to the newspapers and a very rapid ban. The 47 riders set off from a very narrow road, always a somewhat nerve-wracking way to begin a race due to the potential for early crashes if riders collide with one another when accelerating. The first corner, Oosterse Es/De Slegge, was also very tight, as was the second into Maurits van Eppelaan, the bends on the same road, the Maurits van Eppelaan/Witingerweg corner and the final turn back onto Oosterse Es. In addition, the entire route was surfaced in brick which, although grippy and smooth, can come loose and cause inner-tube blow-outs if hit head on; fortunately, the race passed without any serious problems and all but three of the riders were able to finish

Winanda Spoor

Many eyes will have been on Trieneke Fokkens (#8, De Noordelijke Atb-Club) today after she came third behind Eileen Roe (Ibis) and Anouska Koster (Dolmans-Boels) at the Profronde van Surhuisterveen last Tuesday; she retains her good form and came third again. In second place was the speed skater Rixt Meier, who cycles in summer primarily to maintain fitness - with such an excellent performance today, she'll be a rider to watch should she ever decided to switch allegiances and concentrate on cycling in future, just as so many other top female riders before her have done. There was no real surprise, however, when Winanda Spoor proved herself the fastest rider: she was Junior National Road Race Champion in 2008 and benefits from the race experience that comes with riding for the high profile Dolmans-Boels team.

Esra Tromp (Skil-Argos), who impressed spectators at the Erondegemse Pijl yesterday by keeping up with Iris Slappendel (Rabobank) for far longer than could be reasonably expected before finishing 71st, did very well to finish just outside the top ten.

Results
  1.  Winanda Spoor Dolmans-Boels  
  2.  Rixt Meijer WV De Noord-Westhoek 
  3.  Trieneke Fokkens De Noordelijke Atb-Club 
  4.  Jarmila Machacova  
  5.  Daniële Lissenberg 
  6.  Nike Beckeringh WTC De Amstel  
  7.  Elise Karssies De Noordelijke Atb-Club
  8.  Jermaine Post LRTV Swift 
  9.  Erika Broekema NWV Groningen 
  10.  Hilde Van Slochteren De Noordelijke Atb-Club  
  11.  Esra Tromp Skil-Argos 
  12.  Samantha Van Steenis WV De Noord-Westhoek 
  13.  Ilona Hoeksma WRV De Peddelaars Hoogeveen  
  14.  Hester Wagenaar  
  15.  Sione Jongstra GRC Jan Van Arckel  
  16.  Ingeborg Kreuze WV De Noord-Westhoek 
  17.  Ivana Tiessens De Noordelijke Atb-club 
  18.  Nathalie Van Katwijk Wv Noord-Holland
  19.  Annouk Van Der Weijden Specialized DPD SRAM
  20.  Renee Welling Hoornse Ren En Toerclub 
  21.  Irene Tesink WV De Noord-Westhoek 
  22.  Ankie Ytsma WV De Noord-Westhoek 
  23.  Silja Visser Hoornse Ren En Toerclub 
  24.  Nathasja Heijting PRC Delta  
  25.  Anne Kuilboer  
  26.  Annewil Schreuder W.V. Omega  
  27.  Janien Lubben WRV De Peddelaars Hoogeveen  
  28.  Linda De Croon WV De Noord-Westhoek 
  29.  Astrid Schuitema De Noordelijke Atb-Club 
  30.  Liesbeth Zeeman Hoornse Ren En Toerclub 
  31.  Irene Lako Cycle Sport Groningen  
  32.  Annie Labordus  
  33.  Annet Pit WRV De Peddelaars Hoogeveen  
  34.  Nelleke Ensing WV Meteoor Assen-Roden 
  35.  Bianca Koning WV De Noord-Westhoek 
  36.  Lies Wildeman WV De Noord-Westhoek 
  37.  Joran Tromp GRC Jan Van Arckel 
  38.  Laura Ringersma 
  39.  Fardau Westra WV Otto Ebbens 
  40.  Natasja van d er Zwaag 
  41.  Margriet Engelsma De Noordelijke Atb-Club  
  42.  Linda Bruins  
  43.  Mariet van d er Helm 
  44.  Elke Nordkamp