Vos and Wild do battle over bonus seconds in sprinters’ stage race
Marianne Vos (Nederland Bloeit) won the seventh and final stage of the Holland Ladies Tour in Hellendoorn, eastern Netherlands to secure overall victory in the race. The former World champion outsprinted overnight race leader Kirsten Wild (Cervélo TestTeam) and Shelley Olds (United States) into second and third at the end of the 121.5km stage.
With just 3 seconds between Wild and Vos at the beginning of the stage, time bonuses awarded at the intermediate sprints were always going to be crucial. In the two sprints, at 54.5km and 104.3km, Vos took the maximum six seconds to Wilds 3. This meant that both riders were level on time and the whole race would come down to the final sprint for the finish line.
Vos’ Nederland Bloeit team took control of the peloton in the final 5km and delivered its captain to the line. On the slightly uphill finishing straight Vos pulled clear of the others, finishing a bike length clear of Wild with Olds in a close third.
Vos also won the points classification by 4 points over Wild, who took the sprints classification. Emilia Fahlin (HTC-Columbia), tenth in the general classification, took the white jersey for the best young rider, and the Cervélo TestTeam won the team classification.
Result stage 7
1. Marianne Vos (Ned) Nederland Bloeit
2. Kirsten Wild (Ned) Cervélo TestTeam
3. Shelley Olds (USA) United States National Team
4. Denise Zuckermandel (Ger) German National Team
5. Martine Bras (Ned) Mixteam Merida/Gauss
6. Andrea Bosman (Ned) Leontien.nl
7. Charlotte Becker (Ger) Cervélo TestTeam
8. Emilia Fahlin (Swe) HTC-Columbia
9. Ellen Van Dijk (Ned) HTC-Columbia
10. Emma Johansson (Swe) RedSun Cycling Team
Final overall standings
1. Marianne Vos (Ned) Nederland Bloeit
2. Kirsten Wild (Ned) Cervélo TestTeam @ 3s
3. Ellen Van Dijk (Ned) HTC-Columbia @ 52s
4. Charlotte Becker (Ger) Cervélo TestTeam @ 1’02”
5. Martine Bras (Ned) Mixteam Merida/Gauss @ 1’17”
6. Emma Johansson (Swe) RedSun Cycling Team @ 1’20”
7. Annemiek Van Vleuten (Ned) Nederland Bloeit @ 1’21”
8. Trixi Worrack (Ger) Noris Cycling Team @ 1’28”
9. Sarah Düster (Ger) Cervélo TestTeam @ 1’37”
10. Emilia Fahlin (Swe) HTC-Columbia @ 1’39”
Points classification (green jersey): Marianne Vos (Ned) Nederland Bloevt
Sprints classification (yellow jersey): Kirsten Wild (Ned) Cervélo TestTeam
Young rider classification (white jersey): Emilia Fahlin (Swe) HTC-Columbia
Team classification: Cervélo TestTeam