HTC Columbia’s Ellen van Dijk wins women’s race
Niki Terpstra of Milram took out a solo win in the Sparkassen-Giro in Bochum, Germany. Terpstra avoided a sprint clash with HTC-Columbia’s André Greipel, saving ten seconds over the remainder of the break. Canadian Guillaume Boivin (Spidertech-Planet Energy) was a surprise second, ahead of Greipel.
It came down to the expected battle between the only two ProTour teams in the race, Milram and HTC-Columbia. “That was a superb performance from our team”, said Jochen Hahn, sports director at Milram. “We wanted to make the race really hard from the beginning because we didn’t have a classical sprinter. We also had great respect from the fast guys around André Greipel.”
If Milram would have a sponsor for next year, the future could even looking to be good. “Our two stagiaires Stefan Schäfer and Michael Weicht did really well and supported us perfectly. Niki Terpstra was then our man for the finale. He attacked at the right moment and crowned the work of the team with a victory. Our plan for today went to perfection,” said Hahn.
Milram’s Luke Roberts, who won the derny race the day before, was in the first break of the day, with HTC-Columbia’s Tony Martin. But the peloton kept the two strongmen at bay, reeling them in early. It took until km 120 when a lead group of 40 riders developed.
Terpstra attacked with 20km to go, drawing eight other riders with him. Terpstra gave his break companions no time to rest and attacked several times. He used the last hill to storm away and finish solo.
Van Dijk takes women’s race
HTC Columbia couldn’t win the men’s race despite being heavy favorites, but they did take out the women’s edition, thanks to Ellen van Dijk. The Dutchwoman jumped to victory from a break of nine in wet and miserable conditions.
“It was not a nice day for riding,” said Van Dijk, “but I felt good once we started and we had a great day.” The break formed with about 20 kilometers remaining and she was able to get help from her teammate Evelyn Stevens.
“Evie bridged across to the break, which was great because I was a bit isolated up there,” explained Van Dijk. “When she caught us she just kept going and was off the front, which forced the others to chase. She couldn’t hold it all the way to the finish but even when she got caught she just kept riding hard so that the break would stay away.
“That was perfect for me for the sprint. Just before the final Vicki Whitelaw attached and I hopped on her wheel. This turned out to be a great lead-out and I was able to come around her in the last corner to win the sprint.
Results men
1. Niki Terpstra (Team MILRAM)
2. Guillaume Boivin (Spidertech-Planet Energy)
3. André Greipel (Team Columbia High Road)
4. Eric Baumann (Team Netapp)
5. Steven Caethoven (Landbouwkrediet)
6. Vojtech Hacecky (Atlas Personal)
7 .David Hesselbarth (Team Heizomat) 0:12
8. Robert Retschke (Con.Team Differdange) 0:15
9. David Boily (Spidertech-Planet Energy) 1:00
10. Geert Verheyen (Landbouwkrediet)
Results women
1 Van Dijk, Ellen (HTC Columbi) 01.58.19
2 Cromwell, Tiffany (Lotto-Ladie) 00.00
3 Polspoel, Maaike (Topsport Vl) 00.00
4 Whitelaw, Vicki (Lotto-Ladie) 00.00
5 Carretta, Valentina (Top Girls F) 00.00
6 Stevens, Evelyn (HTC Columbi) 00.12
7 Sosna, Katazino (Vaiano Sola) 00.28
8 Hosking, Chloe (HTC Columbi) 00.58
9 D’Hoore, Jolien (Topsport Vl) 00.58
10 Druyts, Kelly (Topsport Vl) 00.58