Australian outsprints Bronzini and Vos to take Dutch World Cup warm up race
Chloe Hosking (Specialized-lululemon) took her biggest European win to date as she sprinted to victory in the Drentse 8, the Dutch warm up race ahead of Saturday’s Ronde van Drenthe World Cup. The Australian sprinter managed to put herself on the front going into the final corner and, as she opened up her sprint, none of the rest of the field was able to come past.
The 21-year-old could hardly have chosen bigger names to scalp in her first major win in Europe, with World champion Giorgia Bronzini (Diadora-Pasta Zara) in second place, and Netherlands champion Marianne Vos (Rabobank), in the Dutchwoman’s first road race of the season.
“I know the big one’s on Saturday, but this is my first really big European win and I’ve been over here since 2009,” a tearful Hosking told the local RTV cameras. “The girls were all amazing today, I’m really overwhelmed.”
The race, which is named the Drentse Acht because of its figure-eight course around the countryside of the northern Netherlands province of Drenthe, began with a number of crashes as amateur local riders mixed with the World’s elite. Before too long though, Annalies Visser (Ruiter Dakkappellen) and Elles Niphuis (Peddelaars) escaped together. The two local riders were not to stay away for long against the elite peloton however and were soon back in the fold.
Another crash, on one of the sections of Drenthe cobbles, saw Alie Gercama (Dolmans-Boels) suffer a broken collarbone – the second rider of the team suffer the fate this week, after British rider Emma Trott’s crash in Sunday’s Omloop van het Hageland.
The next breakaway looked far more serious as Romy Kasper (RusVelo), Valentina Carretta (MCipollini-Giambenini) and Carmen Small (United States) escaped. The trio managed to get more than a minute clear before the shrinking peloton chased them down.
Pressure from Vos on the front saw the World cyclocross champion pull World time trial champion Judith Arndt (GreenEDGE-AIS), Emilia Fahlin (Specialized-lululemon), Emma Johansson (Hitec Products-Mistral Home) and Small again clear. The five riders were always in sight of the peloton on the flat, straight roads though, and were back in the fold as the finish approached.
The Rabobank team tried to set up Vos for the finish, with Roxane Knetemann and Sarah Düster leading into the final kilometre, but in the chaotic finish Hosking was able to hit the front first.
Result Drentse 8
1. Chloe Hosking (Aus) Specialized-lululemon
2. Giorgia Bronzini (Ita) Diadora-Pasta Zara
3. Marianne Vos (Ned) Stichting Rabo Women Team
4. Monia Baccaille (Ita) MCipollini-Giambenini
5. Emma Johansson (Swe) Hitec Products-Mistral Home
6. Pascale Jeuland (Fra) Vienne Futuroscope
7. Belinda Goss (Aus) Abus-Nutrixxion
8. Giada Borgato (Ita) Diadora-Pasta Zara
9. Sarah Düster (Ger) Stichting Rabo Women Team
10. Megan Guarnier (USA) Team Tibco-To the Top