Anouska Koster earned herself the mountains jersey following the queen stage in the Boels Rental Ladies Tour. Our Friesian took on Saturday noon the full load in the mountain sprint.  Earlier in the race, she also collected points for the mountains classification, leading her to the podium.

The riders not only had to deal in the stage on Saturday (Stamproy-Vaals) with fierce hills in Limburg, but also with rainfall. The roads in the South of the Netherlands were at times deceptively slippery. “It was a tough stage”, says DS Jeroen Blijlevens after the stage.

The first hills were looming after 50 kilometres. The 6 WM3 Pro Cycling riders survived at the front for a long time, even at times when the peloton was split.

Team leader Kasia Niewiadoma got involved with the favourites in the general classification in the final of the queen stage.  She unfortunately did not succeed to jump away with the decisive attack at 15 kilometres from the finish. Anna van der Breggen and GC leader Annemiek van Vleuten forced a gap.

One more stage
Van der Breggen won in Vaals while van Vleuten strengthened her position in the GC. Kasia crossed the finish line in a group behind the 2 leaders. “The podium seems far away now, but the riders await a long and tough stage in Limburg on Sunday in which we could compete for the day victory”, says Jeroen Blijlevens.

WM3 Pro Cycling will miss 2 key riders in the final stage to Sittard. Lauren Kitchen had to leave the race on Saturday due to illness and Moniek Tenniglo dropped out in consultation with the team management, as a precaution. She is not entirely fit and wants to be fully recovered in time for the Lotto Belgium Tour next week.