Novilon Euregio Cup 2013

10.03.2013 Official Site
Netherlands, One-day Road Race
UCI 1.2

No Vos this year - but there'll be
plenty of other worthy adversaries
for Armitstead

The third of the big UCI women's races at the Drenthe Wielerweekend (though not the last race, as the Rabobank Toertocht van Coevorden takes place later on the same day), the Novilon Euregio Cup (named after sponsors Novilon, a flooring manufacturer, and Euregio - more on that below) has - like the Drentse 8 and Ronde van Drenthe that took place over the last few days - been dominated by Dutch riders in most years: German Viola Paulitz-Müller won the first edition in 1998, then Dutchwoman Leontien van Moorsel won in 1999 followed by the Swedish Madeleine Lindberg in 2000. The race couldn't be held in 2000 due to an outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease in the agricultural province; then van Moorsel won again in 2001 followed by fellow Dutch riders Mirjam Melchers, Sissy van Alebeek, Suzanne de Goede and Loes Markerink over the subsequent four years. Giorgia Bronzini, an Italian, took the honours for 2007 before Kristin Armstrong became the first and to date only American to stand on the podium when she won in 2008, then the Dutch took over once again with a win by Marianne Vos is 2009, Annemiek van Vleuten in 2010, de Goede again in 2011 and then Vos again in 2012. British riders have done well too, perhaps because Drenthe is so similar to much of England, with three third places - Ceris Gillfillan in 2000, Rachel Heal in 2003 and Lizzie Armitstead in 2012. Armitstead, of course, was the only rider to challenge Vos in the Olympics road race later that year; Vos, who won the Ronde van Drenthe on the 9th of March, isn't taking part in the Novilon Cup this year but there are plenty of her nation's finest - on her Rabo team and in other squads - mean that Armitstead has plenty of competition of she fancies a chance to returning the favour of winning on a rival's home soil. Expect a battle..

The Ronde, with its three ascents of VAM berg, suits the climbers; in the past the Novilon has featured four climbs but became more of a sprinters' race from 2012 - it now takes in VAM berg only once relatively early in the race before taking flat roads to the final flat, straight sprint finish. The schedule can be downloaded here.

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The Parcours

Coevorden is a municipality in the south of Drenthe; the city from which it takes its name is just metres from the German border in Euregio, a cross-border region in which Dutch and German authorities, enterprises and other entities have agreed to work together without regard to their different nationalities for the good of the region (Euregio was the first such area, established in 1958, and has been enormously successful; there are now a total of 74 similar Euroregions). Although it has the feel of a market town, Coevorden has held city status since 1408, at which point it was the largest and most important in the area. Since eclipsed by Emmen, its illustrious past is made evident by the large star-shaped fortifications in the centre of the city, designed by Menno van Coehoorn - the design will look familiar to anyone who has been to Besançon to see the Tour de France, though in fact Besançon's star-shaped fort was designed by Sébastien Le Prestre de Vauban. Right in the centre is the marketplace - not, it has to be admitted, the most attractive in the Netherlands, but it's from here that the race begins before heading north out of the city to De Loo, arriving there after ten minutes, then through the flat countryside - where the riders get their first taste of the wind that often characterises races at this time of year - to Dalen, birthplace of professional cyclist Karsten Kroon and home to several windmills. The N854 then carries the race toward Gees and, at 14.7km when they're on roads familiar from the previous day's Ronde van Drenthe, to the first cobbles. Situated in a damp forested region, these cobbles are made especially dangerous by slippery moss and may easily finish off any early breakaways - or, if a small group finds its lower density offers an advantage, serve to increase their advantage if the peloton is held up by a crash.

Once they're through Nieuw-Balinge (also familiar from the Ronde), the riders come to Drijber, a village that would fit several times over into the land occupied by its neighbour - the Essent-Attero waste disposal plant better known to cyclists and fans as VAM, site of the VAM berg climb. VAM berg, which climbs to 56m above sea level in 0.4km at an average gradient of 9.7% with one section as steep as 16%, is an attractive hill that appears far higher than it really is due to the flat surroundings but isn't a natural hill: under the grass and soil that was placed over it when it came to the end of its operational life is a vast rubbish dump (VAM was the name of the company that operated the site). It's another point at which a break might be reeled in and caught by climbers, though at this early stage in the race the peloton is unlikely to show much concern unless the break includes riders who might be able to stay out in front until the next ascent.

After VAM berg, the race turns back to Drijber and then to Mantinge, another village, before arriving at Meppen 44.8km into the race. The parcours now leads via Oosterhesselen and Wachtum back to Dalen, then to Dalerveen at 61.6km, Schoonebeek at 73.5km, Twist at 89.5km and Emmlicheim at 106.9km; at 108.3km the riders come to an intermediate sprint and begin to make their way back to Coevorden, 129.5km into the race. At 131.8km they pass over the finish line, beginning a second intermediate sprint and a final 9.3km section through the city then back out to Achterloo, returning on the Daler Allee road that ends at a roundabout where the riders continue straight ahead onto Stationstraat, marking 1.5km to the finish. Stationstraat ends at another roundabout; the riders again continue straight ahead onto Friesestraat, which takes them back to the marketplace in the centre of the city prior to the last 400m along the straight Kasteel (and past the kasteel, a pink fortified manor house now occupied by a restaurant).

Start List

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Weather

Like your bike races tough, just like the Dutch do? Well, here's some good news - in addition to "high" temperatures of just 3C (and lows of -5C), the riders are likely to experience some flurries of snow en route. It's not predicted to settle, but with conditions throughout north-western Europe becoming colder as next week begins it'll feel bitingly cold as they ride into it.

Boels Rental Ronde van Drenthe

09.03.2013 Official Site
Netherlands, One-day World Cup Road Race, 132.8km
UCI CDM

The second race of the four-day Drentse Week, the Ronde van Drenthe comes two days after the Drentse 8 and is a completely different sort of race: while the 8 is flat and favours sprinters, the Ronde features three climbs of VAM berg - the highest point in Drenthe and a climb that in true Northern Classics style makes up for its lack of altitude with knee-busting steepness, rising to 56m above sea level in just 0.4km at an average gradient of 9.7% with steeper sections up to 16% on the way. Think it doesn't sound too bad? Even Marianne Vos has to put serious effort into getting up it...

 

In addition to the three ascents and because a 16% gradient isn't enough to satisfy Dutch cycling fans' idea of what a hard race should be, there are also plenty of cobbles, numerous tight corners, narrow bridges, slippery moss-covered roads and - always a potential issue in this part of the world at this time of year - the weather: there's a very good chance that riders will face rain (and perhaps snow), freezing temperatures and strong winds blowing in from the North Sea. Sounds like fun, doesn't it?

The women's race has been running under various names since 2007 and has been dominated by Dutch riders: Adrie Visser won the first edition, followed by Chantal Beltman in 2008, Swedish Emma Johansson in 2009, Loes Gunnewijk in 2010 and then Vos in 2011 and 2012. After a typically excellent cyclo cross season and a swathe of triumphs last year, Vos is the easy favourite; however, her enormous talent and success has forced rivals to respond and she won't win again without serious challenges from other teams.

The Parcours

Drenthe is located in the north-eastern corner of the Netherlands, just south of Groningen. Densely populated during the Bronze Age, it's now a rural province with a far lower population density that most of the rest of the country. In the Netherlands, it's nicknamed "The Cycling Province" due to the large numbers of cyclists from across Europe who come to ride on the quiet, excellent roads. At the beginning of the Second World War, Drenthe was home to a camp housing German Jewish refugees who had fled the Nazis; after the Netherlands was invaded the camp was taken over and became a transit camp from which Jews, Gypsies and others were sent to the concentration camps (among them, Anne Frank, who was placed on the last train to leave the camp for Auschwitz where she died early in March 1945). Today, the province frequently plays host to historical re-enactments of the conflict, as Australian star Bridie O'Donnell discovered when she took a wrong turn on her way to the race in 2010 and ended up right in the middle of one. 

VAM berg

VAM berg's unusual name comes from the fact that it's not a natural feature - it used to be a rubbish dump maintained by the Vuijl Afvoer Maatshappij ("Waste Disposal Company") who covered it in soil and turned it into a hill once it reached the end of its operational life. The riders climb it for the first time 9.4km after reaching the end of the neutralised zone at Hoogeveen - with the surrounding landscape being so flat, the views from the top are superb; however, since it's such a crucial factor in deciding the eventual outcome of the race the riders won't take much notice even at this early stage. There are the first GPM points of the race on offer for the first riders to the top and there is plenty of opportunity for a breakaway on the way down - if a rider or group does manage to get away here she or it is unlikely to stay away for the remaining 122km (although it might not be particularly surprising if Vos managed to pull that one off), but it's a chance for those riders who don't have much chance of winning to get some time out in front where the press can notice them. The first third of the climb is steepest with an average gradient of 14%; it becomes progressively less steep over the last two thirds to the summit.

Once through Nieuw-Balinge, the riders enter an area with many ponds and small lakes formed by the peat cutting industry that brought much of the region's income and shaped the landscape. At 20.2km, now in forest, they come to the first cobbles - a 500m section made especially treacherous by the moss and algae that grow in the damp forest and a real challenge for riders in any break that got away earlier now that they'll be wanting to extend their advantage in preparation for the intermediate sprint at Emmen, 41.8km into the parcours. There are more cobbles, albeit far less dangerous ones, on the way through Exloo from 50.1 to 53.8km, then some more at Borger-Odoorn from 57.2 to 60.7km and again at 67.1 to 69.1km before the race enters a 14km section featuring several tight corners and narrow stretches en route towards the second ascent of VAM berg at 93.1km, where there are again points for the first riders up and scope for the race to change dramatically - a break could be caught on the way up or might extend its lead if it includes climbers, or a new one might form.

Marianne Vos won in
2011 and 2012. Can she
be stopped this year?
Recent performances
suggest not.

Heading back along some of the same roads they used earlier, the riders make their way back to Hoogeveen and begin the third part of the race. At 106.5km they pass over the finish line for the first time, beginning the second intermediate sprint. They then head back out of town in the direction of Stuifzand, negotiating some hazardous sharp bends after around 111km before entering the VAM industrial site once more for the third and final climb of VAM berg at 119.9km. Now, the order in which the riders climb it is important: there are insufficient kilometres to the finish line for the peloton to risk allowing a strong break to get away and, should one form, expect the teams to work together to bring them back rapidly; if it's a superstrong break, made up of some race favourites and their most able domestiques, the eventual winner will be among them. This last section will probably see an increasing number of attacks as riders test one another, finding out who has a the strength left for a last push and who won't be able to hold their own. After passing through Stuifzand for the final time, the race returns to Hoogeveen where the riders head into town along the Griendtsveenweg, then turn the last corner, left at a roundabout onto Rembrandstraat - not an easy corner as the wide road is split into two narrow carriageways by a central island for much of its length, creating a potential bottleneck if a large number of riders fighting for good positions to begin the final sprint are compressed into a tight area. The width of the road doesn't change from now on, meaning that if a bunch is leading the race sprinters may have difficulty in forcing their way through to the front in time for the final 300m to the finish line on Prinses Beatrixstraat.

Start List

Not yet available

Weather

More information nearer to the race