Intermediate sprints give Marianne Vos the race lead in uncharacteristically calm weather
Ina Teutenberg (Specialized-lululemon) scored her first victory over World number one Marianne Vos (Rabobank) since April as she sprinted to win the opening stage of the Brain Wash Holland Ladies Toer in Neerijnen, in the central Netherlands. After a day of uncharacteristically calm weather, virtually the entire peloton arrived at the finish line together, and Teutenberg’s teammate and compatriot Trixi Worrack delivered the German veteran to the line.
Vos was unable to come alongside Teutenberg as she opened up her own sprint, and had to settle for second place a length back. The Dutch phenomenon did manage a morale-boosting victory over her Worlds nemesis Giorgia Bronzini (Italian National Team), with the Limburg championships less than three weeks away, with the reigning champion taking third.
Time bonuses at the two intermediate sprints of they day meant that Vos took the first red and white chequerboard race leader’s jersey however, two seconds ahead of Teutenberg.
“The first stage is in the books,” Teutenberg wrote in her Velocio Sports blog afterwards. “There really is not much to write about as we enjoyed a beautiful day in Holland with temperature in mid twenties and no wind. It for sure doesn’t happen often that sun lotion is used instead of rain jackets here, but I’m sure most of the peloton was happy to have a day of good weather to get cruising.”
Teutenberg is one of the sport’s big names that will be retiring from the sport at the end of the season, but the 37-year-old veteran sprinter still has an appetite for victory.
“I said it already in the preview of this stage race that this year is so different and it is hard to get the body going or maybe it is just my old body and brain,” she joked.
In the calm, sunny conditions it was difficult for any of the powerful Dutch teams in the race to assert themselves over the rest, and the early action was confined to a solo attack from Willeke Knol (Jan van Arckel). The 21-year-old was not able to get more than a handful of seconds clear however, and she was back in the peloton before the first intermediate sprint after 21.5km.
Vos took the sprint – and the three-second bonus – ahead of Shelley Olds (AA Drink-Leontien.nl) and Monique van de Ree (Skil-Argos). Van de Ree took the mid-stage Premiumsprint, ahead of Chantal Blaak (AA Drink-Leontien.nl) and her Skil-Argos teammate Janneke Kanis, but there was no time bonus this time.
The peloton then stayed together until the second Bonus sprint, which came as it crossed the finish line for the first time, with just a flat 27.2km finishing circuit to go. This was taken by Vos again, with van de Ree getting the better of Olds this time.
Despite greater activity in the closing 20km, nobody was able to get away until another Jan van Arckel rider, in the form of Moniek Tenniglo forced her way clear in the last five kilometres. This latest attack was quickly snuffed out by the sprinters’ teams however, and the peloton arrived at the finishing straight together for Teutenberg to sprint to victory.
Result stage 1
1. Ina Teutenberg (Ger) Specialized-lululemon
2. Marianne Vos (Ned) Stichting Rabobank
3. Giorgia Bronzini (Ita) Italian National Team
4. Kelly Druyts (Bel) Belgian National Team
5. Trixi Worrack (Ger) Specialized-lululemon
6. Kirsten Wild (Ned) AA Drink-Leontien.nl
7. Emma Johansson (Swe) Hitec Products-Mistral Home
8. Melissa Hoskins (Aus) Orica-GreenEdge
9. Suzanne de Goede (Ned) Skil-Argos
10. Sara Mustonen (Swe) Hitec Products-Mistral Home
Standings after stage 1
1. Marianne Vos (Ned) Stichting Rabobank
2. Ina Teutenberg (Ger) Specialized-lululemon @ 2s
3. Giorgia Bronzini (Ita) Italian National Team @ 8s
4. Shelley Olds (USA) AA Drink-Leontien.nl @ 9s
5. Monique van de Ree (Ned) Skil-Argos
6. Kelly Druyts (Bel) Belgian National Team @ 12s
7. Trixi Worrack (Ger) Specialized-lululemon
8. Kirsten Wild (Ned) AA Drink-Leontien.nl
9. Emma Johansson (Swe) Hitec Products-Mistral Home
10. Melissa Hoskins (Aus) Orica-GreenEdge