Jeanne Korevaar and Anouska Koster defended tooth and nail the green from WaowDeals Pro Cycling in the first stage of the Healthy Ageing Tour. They were in the leading group, which was quickly formed after the start, pretty much the entire day. In the final, Alice Barnes and Amy Pieters took off with Pieters being the fastest.
The spectators did not have to wait long for a spectacle. Already after a couple of kilometres, a leading group of 14 riders was formed, of which 13 would eventually last. The cooperation went smoothly and the competition would not see them again.
There were a series of attacks in the final. Anouska Koster made a break with 4 others, but were reeled back in, after which Pieters and Barnes escaped. Jeanne Korevaar and Lisa Brennauer tried to close the gap but eventually had to bow their head.
Pieters launched the sprint from afar in Grootegast and just about beat Barnes. The Dutch also takes the overall leader’s jersey. Anouska crossed the finish line as 7th (+38 seconds) and Jeanne as 12th (+42 seconds).
Wind
“We were aware that it could happen today. The wind was already strong at the start. That’s why we had put our riders on rollers prior to the start”, says sports director Jeroen Blijlevens. “We all knew that the wind could be decisive early on. You need some luck to be at the front, which we had.”
Riejanne Markus and Monique van de Ree were nearly all day in a chasing group, and Pauliena Rooijakkers and Rotem Gafinovitz a bit further down.
Stage in line and team time trial
On Friday, the 6 WaowDeals-riders will race the morning stage (66 kilometres) and the team time trial (17.5 kilometres). Both stages will be broadcast on Podium TV.
