After the delayed return, CCC-Liv left a strong impression on Sunday in the Basque one-day race Durango-Durango. The decision was made in the final with two difficult climbs. Ashleigh Moolman-Pasio attacked on the last of the two, but had to acknowledge the superiority of Annemiek van Vleuten. The Dutch won.

“The team did a perfect job today. The agreement was to at least drop Ashleigh Moolman-Pasio and Marianne Vos at the two final climbs for the final fireworks. This worked well and the team were in control of the run-up”, says sports director Jeroen Blijlevens.

After the first climb, seventeen riders were ahead, including Moolman-Pasio, Vos and Pauliena Rooijakkers on behalf of CCC-Liv. “We had agreed that Ashleigh would break away on this steeper climb, provided she had the legs to do it. She felt good and therefore attacked, but Van Vleuten took over and pushed on.”

Van Vleuten crossed the finish line solo. Ashleigh Moolman-Pasio followed 1 minute 38 seconds later. Pauliena Rooijakkers and Marianne Vos just about fell outside the top ten. CCC-Liv finished nicely in second place in the team classification.

Photo credits: Cor Vos