End of the road for the Star Zeeuwsche Eilanden

Chantal Blaak winning Stage 2, 2011
(image: Ster Zeeuwsche Eilanden)

For the second year in a row the Ster Zeeuwsche Eilanden has been cancelled, with organiser Stichting Wielercomité Koudekerke stating that this is now likely to be the permanent end of the race which has been in existence since 1998.

"We've not been able to fill the hole left by the sponsor we lost, and [Potential new] sponsors remain reluctant so we're feeling the financial crunch," Wim Polderman of the Stichting Wielercomité Koudekerke explained. "We made this decision with heavy hearts, because several teams and volunteers had already signed up for 2014. I emphasise that the Committee continues, and our podiumwagen and jurybus remain available."

The race, first held in 1998, was open to professional and club riders and has been won by some of the most famous names in the sport including Hanka Kupfernagel, Leontien van Moorsel, Mirjam Melchers, Ina-Yoko Teutenberg, Marianne Vos and Kirsten Wild who won a record three times.

Aalburg - second win in as many days for Annemiek van Vleuten

Video below

Two wins in two days for
Annemiek van Vleuten

Baking heat, strong winds and a crash just 7km into the parcours proved too much for a big chunk of the field and caused the peloton to split rapidly into three groups; a small lead group being chased by a second and a big pack of riders simply trying to survive some way down the road as the tough conditions dissuaded anyone from even thinking about putting in more effort than was strictly needed. An attitude of "We're all in this together; let's just get through it" developed, made most evident when Senger mechanics went to the aid of Specialized-DPM-SRAM rider Anouska Kloster - a nice demonstration of the friendliness that, for the most part, is found in women's cycling; but nevertheless many riders preferred to sit it out in the autobus and no doubt wished that they were aboard a real, air con-equipped bus.

It wasn't until the final part of the race that the attacks began. Chantal Blaak (AA Drink-Leontien.nl) was first to go but didn't get far, then van Vleuten and Shelley Olds (AA Drink-Leontien.nl) went together, apparently as much to check out one another's strength as in the hope of actually achieving anything because they'd let off the pace and were back with Blaak moments later. Blaak, meanwhile, was feeling the effects of the heat and was replaced by Amanda Spratt (Australian National Team), the three of them working together to grab an extra 50m and 30" going into the 108th kilometre.

Judith Bloem

Spratt launched an attack of her own a short while later but was soon back. The final 5km, with the three of them calmly riding together, was a fantastically tense bit of racing - each of them demonstrated the sort of self-control of which a poker player would feel proud and gave absolutely no indication of when, or even if, they were about to launch what might well prove to be the winning move. They were still together at 2km to go, then 1km, then 200m...and then van Vleuten lit the fuse and flung herself up the road towards the finish, getting there mere fractions of a second before Olds with Spratt 4" behind. The chase group arrived 1'42" later with Marieke Van Wanroij getting a 2" advantage over the rest, then a third group led by Roxane Knetemann came in just shy of three minutes after the winner. The autobus arrived at +6'23" and turned out to have no fewer than 68 riders onboard, then Judith Bloem (Restore) closed up the race when she crossed the line 6'56" after van Vleuten. Chapeau to everyone who finished - 49 riders did not.

Top Ten
  1.  Annemiek van Vleuten Rabobank 3h04'44"
  2.  Shelley Olds AA Drink-Leontien.nl ST
  3.  Amanda Spratt Orica GreenEdge-AIS +04"
  4.  Marieke Van Wanroij AA Drink-Leontien.nl +1'42"
  5.  Chantal Blaak AA Drink-Leontien.nl +1'44"
  6.  Iris Slappendel Rabobank ST
  7.  Pauline Ferrand Prevot Rabobank ST
  8.  Gracie Elvin ST
  9.  Suzanne De Goede Skil-Argos ST
  10.  Roxane Knetemann Rabobank +2'59"

(Full results)

Photos by Bart Hazen
Photos by Anton Vos

Van Vleuten Victorious in Valkenburg, Vos injured

Sharon Laws led the race for a long time
today - if it has been a little cooler, she
could very easily have been the winner

In addition to Stage 1 at the Exergy Tour, Friday brought us the Parkhotel Valkenburg Classic, the 86.7km race that starts and ends in the Limburg city and takes the riders up and over some of the toughest climbs in the area - none of which are very high, but many of which enter double-digit gradients.

Marianne Vos (Rabobank) and Sharon Laws (AA Drink-Leontien.nl) had gained a 55" lead just 15km into the race - a familiar sight to the rest of the field, who have become well-used to the 25-year-old  Rabobank star's tendency to get away early on and then dominate the remainder of the race just like she did here in 2007, 2009 and last year. Laws, however, is an opponent even a rider as talented as Marianne cannot take likely, especially after her stunning performances in Flanders earlier this season; if she could keep up, another Vos victory was far from guaranteed should the race prove destined to end in a test of physical strength. Then, a few kilometres further on, Vos had a  a crash - one of the official motorbikes on the parcours turned out to be slower than the Flying Dutchwoman and failed to get out of the way quickly enough.

She was rapidly back in action, but not before Laws opened a 45" gap between them. Seeing Vos in trouble spurred several hopefuls into action and before long the Dutch rider was trying to make up the gap and hold off a sixteen-strong chase group. She made it back as Laws was slowed by the first ascent of Cauberg, but was visibly suffering and apparently hoping the 2'45" lead they now had would see her through.

By the time they got around to the third ascent, Vos was looking somewhat recovered and the two riders played cat-and-mouse, taking it in turns to put one another to the test and gauge their strength. Annemiek van Vleuten (Rabobank) and Lucinda Brand (AA Drink) had now escaped the chase group and were attempting to bridge to their team mates. Unfortunately for AA Drink, the heat had taken its toll on Laws and she was beginning to lose pace; meaning that even with Brand to help her they stood little chance when their rivals turned up the gas.

Annemiek van Vleuten

Van Vleuten neither intended nor expected to win, but made the most of the opportunity that fate had given her and attacked with 500m to go. "Our team manager Jeroen Blijlevens called me in the last couple of kilometres to say I was very close to the leaders," she explained after the race. "So I went for it, without consulting Marianne because there was insufficient time." Chances are, Marianne will be among the first to congratulate her.

Laws was third and recorded the same time as van Vleuten,  followed 15" by Emma Pooley who crossed the line alone ahead of her team mates Chantal Blaak and Lucinda Brand (+1'47") and, in eighth, Shelley Olds - an incredible five AA Drink riders in the top ten.

Vos seemed orifinally to have escaped anything serious: "I've grazed my shoulder and arm, an my right arm is giving me some trouble. I'll have it checked out," she told reporters. However, by 16:00BST rumours had begun to circulate online that she'd suffered a broken collarbone; the news being confirmed by Rabobank's press officer a short while later (and she rode Cauberg FOUR times...and responded to Laws' attempted attacks? Just how good is she?) Often called the best cyclist in the world today, Vos will undergo further tests on Tuesday to investigate the fracture (described by brother Anton as a "good" break, so it should heal quickly) and help decide whether surgery will be required. She'll now need to concentrate on making a full recovery in time for the Olympics and, if she's taking part this year, the Giro Donne; but she'll obviously be unable to race the Dorpenomloop Aalbrg, which passes through her home village Meeuwen, and will probably miss the Emakumeen Bira, RaboSter Zeeuwsche Eilanden and other races. Meanwhile, the fact that she did so well today despite her injury suggests she might do very well indeed in the World Championship road race this year, which takes place on an almost identical parcours. Very best of wishes for a speedy recovery, Marianne.

Top Ten
  1.  Annemiek Van Vleuten Rabobank 2h31'18"
  2.  Marianne Vos Rabobank ST
  3.  Sharon Laws AA Drink-Leontien.nl ST
  4.  Emma Pooley AA Drink-Leontien.nl +15"
  5.  Chantal Blaak AA Drink-Leontien.nl +1'47"
  6.  Lucinda Brand AA Drink-Leontien.nl ST
  7.  Adrie Visser Skil-Argos +2'22" 4
  8.  Shelley Olds AA Drink-Leontien.nl ST
  9.  Annelies Van Doorslaer Kleo ST
  10.  Pauline Ferrand Prevot Rabobank ST

Full results when available

Video

Rabobank Race Report

Photos by Bart Hazen: Sanne Cant guesting for Matrix-Prendas / Vos treats her shoulder with an icepack / van Vleuten crosses the line (follow Bart for photos from the major women's races and as-it-happens race coverage)

Other photos: Eric Boosten - Roxane Knetemann - Chantal Blaak - Emma Pooley / Amstel Gold Race XP - Podium

Energiewacht Tour Stage 5 report and results

Ina-Yoko Teutenberg
(image credit: Velocio Sports)

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


(Full stage result)

Final General Classification

Image credit and full results: Energiewachttour.nl

Interesting Stuff: Follow Teut on Twitter (and her team too)

Stage 1 / 2 / 3 / 4a-4b / 5 / Guide / Video Vault

Energiewacht Tour 2012 Stages 4a and 4b

Stage 4a - click to enlarge
(image credit: Energiwacht Tour)

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.

The terp at Ezinge, the Netherland's oldest village
(image credit: Ruben Binnendijk CC BY-SA 3.0)

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).

Stage 4b - click to enlarge
(image credit: Energiwacht Tour)

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.

Stage 1 / 2 / 3 / 4a-4b / 5 / Guide / Video Vault

Energiewacht Tour Stage 3 report and results

Ina-Yoko Teutenberg
(now with Lululemon)
(image credit: Gsl 2.0 CC BY-SA 3.0)

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).

Interesting Stuff: Official organiser's report

Stage 1 / 2 / 3 / 4a-4b / 5 / Guide / Video Vault

Energiewacht Tour Stage 3

Stage 3 - click to enlarge
(image credit: Energiewacht Tour)

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.

Kirsten Wild
(image credit: AA Drink-Leontien.nl)

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).

Stage 1 / 2 / 3 / 4a-4b / 5 / Guide / Video Vault

Energiewacht Stage 2 report and results

Ina-Yoko Teutenberg
(now with Lululemon)
(image credit: Gsl 2.0 CC BY-SA 3.0)

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

(Full results when available)

Stage 2

Photos by @ewachttour: Podium / Vos / 1 / 2 / Official stage report

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 1 / 2 / 3 / 4a-4b / 5 / Guide / Video Vault