First non-Rabobank Dutch National Road winner in four years
Niki Terpstra left an army of 19 Rabobank riders behind to take his first ever Elite Dutch National Championship on Sunday.
Terpstra will be the first non-Rabobank rider to wear the Dutch National Champion’s jersey in four years. Meanwhile, Pieter Weening nearly made his Rabobank team look foolish. Had he taken the win, his absence from the Tour team would have looked like a huge error on the part of the Dutch powerhouse. Alas, the win was not to be, and instead, he’s part of an overall disappointing performance by Rabobank.
The final lap of the day saw Terpstra escape with Rabobank’s Pieter Weening from a group of eight. Rabobank was immediately at a disadvantage though, as Weening is not a quick finisher, and thus, Rabobank had a problem on their hands.
Rabobank teammates Moerenhout and Boom set off in pursuit of the leading duo and came within 100 meters of the catch, but the chase was left too late, and all that was left for Terpstra was to go through the formality of trouncing Weening in the sprint, which he did with aplomb.
The consistently improving Terpstra was elated with his ride: “I knew I could do this. My performances all year have been consistent, but I haven’t gotten any real results. I saw Boom approaching in the latter moments and knew I had to go. It was an exciting race.”
1. Niki Terpstra (Milram)
2. Pieter Weening (Rabobank)
3. Lars Boom (Rabobank)
4. Koos Moerenhout (Rabobank)