Alison Jackson top Canadian finisher at Ronde van Drenthe
Vamberg and cobbles create dramatic racing in The Netherlands
Photo by: Liv RacingThe second round of the Women’s World Tour unfolded in dramatic fashion on Saturday in The Netherlands. Ronde van Drenthe settled in a sprint finish, after a spicy set of final kilometers.
Canada’s Alison Jackson and Leah Kirchmann were on the line, with Jackson rolling to a top-20 finish.
? Already on the 4th cobblestone sector of the day – around Exloo.
The bunch is still lead by @TrekSegafredo, but with now only less than a minute of a gap to lone leader Kerry Jonker.#RondevDrenthe pic.twitter.com/Wmuvfv1d1t
— UCI_WWT (@UCI_WWT) March 12, 2022
How the race unfolded
A heated pace up the VAMBerg splintered the lead group, with the numbers on the front briefly dwindling down to just 10. Several riders were able to rejoin and the front group swelled to just over 20 before four riders went off the front with 10km to go. The quartet quickly built an advantage over the chasers,.
Lorena Wiebes (Team DSM), defending champion, was part of the chase group. Leaving it late, the chasers came back to the four person breakaway with 1km to go. While Women’s World Tour leader Lotto Kopecky (SD Worx) was in the group, it was world champion Elisa Balsame (Trek-Segafredo) that came closest to de-throning Wiebes.
Wiebes opened her sprint and the aggressive tactic paid off. The Team DSM rider repeats as Ronde van Drenthe champion for 2022.
? JUST THE FASTEST! @lorenawiebes wins the 2022 #RondevDrenthe ahead of @Elisa_balsamo and @LotteKopecky! pic.twitter.com/kW6gXYiKbc
— UCI_WWT (@UCI_WWT) March 12, 2022
Jackson leads Canadian results
There were only two Canadians on the start line at the second Women’s World Tour round. Alison Jackson was the top Canadian finisher, in 16th, and fastest on her Liv Racing Xstra team. The Tokyo Olympian posted the strong result a day after sprinting to a podium finish at the Drentse acth van Westervelt.
Leah Kirchmann, the second Canuck in Drenthe, was helping her teammate Wiebes to the win before a puncture in one of Drenthe’s cobble sections led to her dropping out of the race.
Results: 2022 Ronde Van Drenthe WWT (Top 20)
1 Lorena WIEBES
TEAM DSM
|
NED | 4:03:31 | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
2 Elisa BALSAMO
TREK – SEGAFREDO
|
ITA | 4:03:32 | ||
3 Lotte KOPECKY
TEAM SD WORX
|
BEL | 4:03:32 | ||
4 Clara COPPONI
FDJ NOUVELLE-AQUITAINE FUTUROSCOPE
|
FRA | 4:03:32 | ||
5 Marta BASTIANELLI
UAE TEAM ADQ
|
ITA | 4:03:32 | ||
6 Alice BARNES
CANYON//SRAM RACING
|
GBR | 4:03:32 | ||
7 Chiara CONSONNI
VALCAR – TRAVEL & SERVICE
|
ITA | 4:03:32 | ||
8 Nina KESSLER
TEAM BIKEEXCHANGE – JAYCO
|
NED | 4:03:32 | ||
9 Jip VAN DEN BOS
TEAM JUMBO-VISMA
|
NED | 4:03:32 | ||
10 Sarah ROY
CANYON//SRAM RACING
|
AUS | 4:03:32 | ||
11 Chloe HOSKING
TREK – SEGAFREDO
|
AUS | 4:03:32 | ||
12 Silvia PERSICO
VALCAR – TRAVEL & SERVICE
|
ITA | 4:03:32 | ||
13 Christine MAJERUS
TEAM SD WORX
|
LUX | 4:03:32 | ||
14 Nina BUIJSMAN
HUMAN POWERED HEALTH
|
NED | 4:03:32 | ||
15 Pfeiffer GEORGI
TEAM DSM
|
GBR | 4:03:32 | ||
16 Alison JACKSON
LIV RACING XSTRA
|
CAN | 4:03:32 | ||
17 Ellen VAN DIJK
TREK – SEGAFREDO
|
NED | 4:03:32 | ||
18 Anouska KOSTER
TEAM JUMBO-VISMA
|
NED | 4:03:32 | ||
19 Lily WILLIAMS
HUMAN POWERED HEALTH
|
USA | 4:03:32 | ||
20 Susanne ANDERSEN
UNO-X PRO CYCLING TEAM
|
NOR | 4:03:32 |