VAN DIJK REPEATS TIME TRIAL WIN AT TOUR OF HOLLAND
HTC-Columbia’s Ellen Van Dijk has captured the time trial stage of the Holland Ladies Tour on Saturday for the second year running - but it was a very close victory.
Van Dijk outpaced Holland’s Marianne Vos by just a few hundredths of seconds in the 12.7 kilometre race against the clock held in the town of Rijssen.
“Ellen won the same stage back in 2009, so she was really motivated to do well again even if she had had a hard time earlier this week in the race,” commented HTC-Columbia sports director René Wenzel. “It was a similar kind of course, too, to last year’s - short, technical and very tricky, with some 90 degree corners you have to take at top speed.”
“You had to have really good bike-handling skills to do well here, and that’s what maybe made the difference today. She didn’t have any time references, because radios aren’t allowed in this category of racing, so she had to judge her own effort - and it all worked out fine.”
Wenzel said Van Dijk’s win, coupled with a fifth place in the tt for Linda Villumsen, had helped the team bounce back after a series of setbacks earlier in the day.
Team-mate Ina-Yoko Teutenberg didn’t start the morning’s stage because of sickness, then Chloe Hosking crashed, suffering possible concussion, and the team decided that she should not continue in the race as a precaution.
“We’ve only got four riders in the race now,” Wenzel said, “but a win like that and really good performances by the others is a boost for everybody’s morale.”
TEUTENBERG WINS OPENING STAGE OF HOLLAND LADIES TOUR
HTC-Columbia's Ina-Yoko Teutenberg has powered to her 22nd victory of the 2010 season in the Holland Ladies Tour, narrowly defeating Netherlands rider Marianne Vos in a bunch sprint.
Teutenberg's victory in the opening stage, a 112.4-kilometre stage in the city of Neunen Gerwen, also earned the HTC-Columbia rider the overall lead.
"Ina was a little uncertain of her condition because she hasn't raced for a while, but she proved today she's in great form," said HTC-Columbia Sports Director Rene Wenzel. "Once it became clear it was going to be a bunch sprint, we worked hard for Ina to make sure she had her chance. It was a very tricky, technical stage, with a very technical finish that strung the riders out and the sprint was very close, but Ina got it."
Teutenberg took third overall in the same race last year, in which she also won a stage. Wenzel commented, "Ina has a five-second advantage, which is pretty slim, but last year the race was won by just a couple of seconds so we'll do what we can. Looking further ahead, too, to the World Championships this September, this is a very encouraging result for Ina."
Teutenberg's HTC-Columbia teammate Evelyn Stevens was unlucky enough to crash in the race, about 20 kilometres from the finish, injuring her elbow. As a precaution, the American rider was taken to a nearby hospital for an x-ray and exam, which concluded to be clear of fractures.
