Preview: Profile Ladies Tour
by Monty. on Aug 30, 2010 9:06 PM EDT
in Women's Cycling
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Print31st August – 5th September
Stage races come so quickly one after the other in the calendar at this time of the year that it would be all too easy to get that sense of "If this is Tuesday this must be Belgium" and to not be able to appreciate the qualities of each race. That would be a great shame, expecially for a race so distinctive as the Profile Holland Ladies Tour which consists of 7 stages, running from Tuesday to Sunday this week, exploring the Netherlands from South to North. Because the Profile Tour is about as close as you will find to a perfect stage race for sprinters. Yes there are climbs. But. Yes there is a Queen Stage. But, but, but. Over the entire week there are scarcely 400m of categorised climbs, and when you look at what has been categorised then there’s not going to be a lot that slips past unnoticed. Last year the top three were Marianne Vos, Kirsten Wild and Ina-Yoko Teutenberg. Teutenberg holds the record for most stages won, with eleven, followed by Regina Schleicher with seven. This is a race in which just one nasty, windy day can make any stage into the Queen stage.
It may call itself a Tour, but this year’s race is based around two centres. We begin with two flat stages near Eindhoven, 112km from Nuenen to Gerwen on Tuesday, then 107km starting and ending in Leende on Wednesday.
Then we move to Haarle in the North for the rest. Thursday’s stage 3 is 107km around Gieten in the province of Drenthe, and anyone who was with us earlier in the season for the Ronde van Drenthe knows that the highes point in that province is an grass-covered, one-time rubbish dump, and they aren’t going anywhere near that. Stage 4 is five laps of a circuit starting and finishing in Goor, for 97km of racing which once again is pancake flat although the riders will pass some hills on the bus on their way to the startline from the race hotel.
It’s not until stage 5 that we hit the first categorised climbs of the race. Stages 5 and 6 use the same roads, but they are ridden several times for Saturday morning’s road stage of 80km, then just once for the afternoon’s 15.6km time trial. See those little yellow markers on the profile below marking the categorised climbs. Well actually it’s the same one every time, and because it also comes within the last 3km, the organisers have been kind enough to tell us the altitude gain. It’s a whole 12m. Now I’ve plotted that last 3km out on bikely.com to see if there was any mistake (click on "show" at the top left, then "elevation profile"), and while it’s technically true to say that the road there is a bit nastier than that, I would be surprised if this was a categorised climb anywhere else in the world. Still, it gives a big hint as to how flat the preceding stages will have been.
Assuming that the wind hasn’t been a factor, Stage 7 on Sunday will be decisive. This is another circuit race, 121km starting and finishing in Hellendoorn, but including three long laps out through the Holterberg National Park, complete with categorised climbs at Motieweg and Nijverdalsebergweg. These are a bit tougher, but still just over 50m high each, the road looks to be wider than you might expect, and given that the race crosses here for the last time almost 50km from the finish line I doubt is the sprinters will be worrying too much.
This race is listed as 2.2 on the UCI calendar, which makes it open to pretty much anyone who wants to ride it, and given that this in the Netherlands then lots do. There are no less than thirty teams down on the start-list, including the big favourites HTC-Columbia, Cervelo and Nederland Bloeit, German, Swiss, USA, Canadian and Welsh (missing Nicole Cooke, but including others who I hadn’t realised were Welsh) national teams, fourteen teams from the Netherlands (3 of which are mixed, although one of those includes Gauss riders Martine Bras and Giorgia Bronzini), and the British Rapha Condor squad. Names to watch for will be the usual suspects of last years top 3, Vos, Wild and Teutenberg, plus Bronzini, Sara Mustonen, Vera Koedooder, and Shelley Evans.
There’s no sign yet of TV coverage, but Netherlands TV usually come up with something. The organisers have their own Twitter account, and other good sources for speedy results include Manel Lacambra and Ina-Yoko Teutenberg. Otherwise just watch this space.
All stage maps via www.profileladiestour.nl
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If they're going to Drenthe territory
will there be cobbles? There seem to be random, un-mentioned sections of cobbles in all kinds of Dutch races (I spotted some in stage 3 of RaboSter) so I am always hopeful….
Teutenberg wins the first stage
….her first race after live-chatting at the Café! See, we are a good-luck charm!
2. Marianne Vos, Nederland Bloeit
3. Kirsten Wild, Cervélo
4. Giorgia Bronzini, mixed team
5. Shelley Evans, Team USA
by Sarah Connolly on Aug 31, 2010 11:04 AM EDT reply actions
Results....
1. Ina-Yoko TEUTENBERG, Columbia Women, 2.47’47", + 10" bonis
2. Marianne VOS, Nederland Bloeit, s.t., + 6" bonis
3. Kirsten WILD, Cervelo Test Team, s.t., + 5" bonis
4. Giorgia BRONZINI, Mixteam Merida / Gauss, s.t.
5. Shelley OLDS, USA Women Cycling Team, s.t.
6. Rochelle GILMORE, Lotto Ladies Team, s.t., + 1" bonis
7. Emma JOHANSSON, Redsun Cycling Team, s.t.
8. Ellen VAN DIJK, HTC Columbia Women, s.t.
9. Annemiek VAN VLEUTEN, Nederland Bloeit, s.t.
10. Monique van de REE, Leontien.nl, s.t.
and because of the sprint-point bonifications, the GC after stage 1 looks like this:
1. Ina-Yoko TEUTENBERG, HTC Columbia Women, 2.47’37"
2. Marianne VOS, Nederland Bloeit, + 4"
3. Amy PIETERS, Mixteam Merida / Gauss, + 4"
4. Kirsten WILD Kirsten, Cervelo Test Team, + 5"
5. Ersa TROMP, Batavus Ladies Cycling Team, + 6"
6. Rochelle GILMORE, Lotto Ladies Team, + 9"
7. Giorgia BRONZINI, Mixteam Merida / Gauss, + 10"
8. Shelley OLDS, USA Women Cycling Team, + 10"
9. Emma JOHANSSON, Redsun Cycling Team, + 10"
10. Ellen VAN DIJK, HTC Columbia Women, + 10"
by Sarah Connolly on Aug 31, 2010 1:21 PM EDT up reply actions
I love this photo
of the sprint finish – I love them all pushing right to the end – not surprised it was a photo finish
by Sarah Connolly on Aug 31, 2010 1:44 PM EDT up reply actions
Here's a bit of video
no race footage, but local news station edtv.nl did a few interviews at the start of the day
I thought that too!
I was really impressed – visions of tedvdw with a camera!
by Sarah Connolly on Aug 31, 2010 3:10 PM EDT up reply actions
Esra Tromp, one of today's breakaway riders has never tweeted
but she may one day @Esratromp
They have podium boys at the HLT!
and this must also be the teddy bear that Ellen van Dijk was tweeting about
Plus Marianne still hasn’t got the the hang of that smack talk! She needs to take lessons from the boys!
Podium
1. Martine Bras
2. Marta Bastianelli
3. Janneke Ensing
by Sarah Connolly on Sep 1, 2010 10:22 AM EDT up reply actions
oops, wrong Bastianelli!
1. Martine BRAS, Mixteam Merida / Gauss, 2.36’17" (+ 16" boni)
2. Velentina BASTIANELLI, Top Girls Fassa Bortolo-Ghezzi, + 00 (+ 9 " boni)
3. Janneke ENSING, Dolmans Landscaping Wielerteam, + 4" (+ 7" boni)
4. Shelley OLDS, USA Women Cycling Team, + 32"
5. Chloe HOSKING, HTC Columbia Women, + 34"
6. Sara MUSTONEN, Hitec Products, + 34"
7. Emma JOHANSSON, Redsun Cycling Team, + 34"
8. Sarah DÜSTER, Cervelo Test Team, + 34"
9. Joelle NUMAINVILLE, Canadian National Team, + 34"
10. Rochelle GILMORE, Lotto Ladies Team, + 34"
and Martine takes the GC lead
GC after 2 stages
1. Martine BRAS, Mixteam Merida / Gauss, 5.23’48"
2. Valentina BASTIANELLI, Top Girls Fassa Bortolo-Ghezzi, + 7"
3. Janneke ENSING Janneke, Dolmans Landscaping Wielerteam, + 13"
4. Ina-Yoko TEUTENBERG, HTC Columbia Women, + 40"
5. Marianne VOS, Nederland Bloeit, + 44"
6. Kisten WILD, Cervelo Test Team, + 45"
7. Shelley OLDS, USA Women Cycling Team, + 48"
8. Rochelle GILMORE, Lotto Ladies Team, + 49"
9. Emma JOHANSSON, Redsun Cycling Team, + 50"
10. Giorgia BRONZINI, Mixteam Merida / Gauss, + 50"
by Sarah Connolly on Sep 1, 2010 3:19 PM EDT up reply actions
More short videos
News report of stage 1 with more Marianne Vos interview and with the finish line
Tiny news report of stage 2, with intervies with spectators rather than actual racing, but still, it’s worth looking at, to give it views and show interest
I love that car that precedes the race
It looks like they took whatever they could find and stuck it on the roof, just to make it look imposing
More photos
Stage 2 by CJ Farquharson
(I like the Rapha jerseys – but maybe not with a pink trim!)
I love this pic of Martine Bras on the podium
and it was crashy according to CJ’s report (with pics) on her other site
The bunch were not wholly attentive to chasing the leaders with 25 kilometres to go, when the advantage for Bras was just over a minute. Bastianelli and Ensing bridged across to Bras with 20 kilometres to go and the advantage for the three began to increase. With fifteen kilometres to go, they were one minute 50 seconds ahead. The gap was closed significantly by a huge effort in the closing kilometres, but it was too little too late. A crash in the bunch broke it into small groups, which rolled over the line. Seven riders did not finish.
Bras enjoyed her win, which comes on the back of a successful season, which has seen her on the podium, or close to it several times in 2010. To round off her good day, Bras took control of all of the jerseys, except the young rider competition lead, which Bastianelli now leads. The Italian also enjoyed her podium time, cheered on by her Top Girls team-mates who chanted “Basta Basta” when she was presented with the white jersey.
by Sarah Connolly on Sep 1, 2010 5:27 PM EDT up reply actions
Stage 3
It was raining, with lots of cobbles, and a technical, cobbled, uphill finish, according to Manel Lacambra (who sounded far too gleeful about it!)
Liesbet De Vocht had escaped, and at one point had gained a couple of minutes on the peloton – but the combined might of Cervélo and HTC chased her down, and it ended as a sprint
1. Marianne Vos, Nederland Bloeit
2. Kirsten Wild, Cervélo
3. Giorgia Bronzini, that mixed team (have you seen the jerseys they’re wearing? They are AWESOME! Luminous green and convict stripes! All they need is some argyle trim!)
1. Marianne VOS, Nederland Bloeit, 2.40’32" (+ 14" bonis)
2. Kirsten WILD, Cervelo Test Team, s.t. (+ 11" bonis)
3. Giorgia BRONZINI, Mixteam Merida / Gauss, s.t. (+ 4" bonis)
4. Emma JOHANSSON, Redsun Cycling Team, s.t.
5. Denise ZUCKERMANDEL, German National Team, + 3"
6. Annemiek VAN VLEUTEN, Nederland Bloeit, + 3"
7. Ina-Yoko TEUTENBERG, HTC Columbia Women, + 3"
8. Joelle NUMAINVILLE, Canadian National Team, + 3"
9. Rochelle GILMORE, Lotto Ladies Team, + 3"
10. Janneke KANIS, Nederland Bloeit, + 3"
GC after stage 3
1. Martine BRAS, Mixteam Merida / Gauss, 8.04’23"
2. Valentina BASTIANELLI, Top Girls Fassa Bortolo-Ghezzi, + 7"
3. Janneke ENSING, Dolmans Landscaping Wielerteam, + 13"
4. Marianne VOS, Nederland Bloeit, + 27"
5. Kirsten WILD, Cervelo Test Team, + 31"
6. Ina-Yoko TEUTENBERG, HTC Columbia Women, + 40"
7. Giorgia BRONZINI, Mixteam Merida / Gauss, + 43"
8. Amy PIETERS, Mixteam Merida / Gauss, + 44"
9. Shelley OLDS, USA Women Cycling Team, + 46"
10. Emma JOHANSSON, Redsun Cycling Team, + 47"
by Sarah Connolly on Sep 2, 2010 3:23 PM EDT up reply actions
Janneke Ensing was interviewed at the end
as best placed local rider (from Drenthe). She isn’t very confident about holding on to her current 3rd place on GC: “There is still a time trial to come, something I don’t train for at all. Also, I don’t have a TT bike.”
Ceci n'est pas une signature.
I'm always amazed
that there is any sort of market at all for TT bikes. Even Marijn de Vries rode one competitively for the first time at l’Aude.
and skinsuits
It’s funny, reading Bridie O’D (can’t find the link, but it WAS funny) and Lisa Jacobs on their first time trying on skinsuits – so much pain! I’d love to see pics of how they get into them, except it would be obscene!
I guess this could be why Cervélo are unbeatable in a TTT – they’re probably the only team riding TT bikes in full kit regularly
by Sarah Connolly on Sep 3, 2010 7:58 AM EDT up reply actions
Stage 4
A big group of 18 riders had escaped, but Martine Bras’ Mixteam lead the chase to get them back…. when Cervélo’s Kirsten Wild hopped through and took the bunch sprint.
Tomorrow has 2 stages, including the ITT – and in a sprinty race, those ITT differences are very important indeed…
1. Kirsten WILD, Cervelo Test Team, 2.18’12" (+ 13" bonis)
2. Marianne VOS, Nederland Bloeit, s.t. (+ 8" bonis)
3. Giorgia BRONZINI, Mixteam Merida / Gauss, s.t. (+ 4" bonis)
4. Emma JOHANSSON, Redsun Cycling Team, s.t.
5. Shelley OLDS, USA Women Cycling Team, s.t. (+ 2" bonis)
6. Monique van de REE, Leontien.NL, s.t.
7. Chloe HOSKING, HTC Columbia Women, s.t.
8. Denise ZUCKERMANDEL, German National Team, s.t.
9. Suzanne DE GOEDE, Nederland Bloeit, s.t.
10. Anne ARNOUTS, Redsun Cycling Team, s.t.
GC after stage 4
1. Martine BRAS, Mixteam Merida / Gauss, 10.22’35"
2. Valentina BASTIANELLI, Top Girls Fassa Bortolo-Ghezzi, + 7"
3. Janneke ENSING, Dolmans Landscaping Wielerteam, + 13"
4. Kirsten WILD, Cervelo Test Team, + 18"
5. Marianne VOS, Nederland Bloeit, + 19"
6. Giorgia BRONZINI, Mixteam Merida / Gauss, + 39"
7. Ina-Yoko TEUTENBERG, HTC Columbia Women, + 40"
8. Shelley OLDS, USA Women Cycling Team, + 44"
9. Amy PIETERS, Mixteam Merida / Gauss, + 44"
10. Emma JOHANSSON, Redsun Cycling Team, + 47"
Stage 5a
1. Kirsten WILD, Cervelo Test Team, 1.57’20" (+ 9" boni)
2. Marianne VOS, Nederland Bloeit, s.t. (+ 6" boni)
3. Shelley OLDS, USA Women Cycling Team, s.t. (+ 2" boni)
4. Emma JOHANSSON, Redsun Cycling Team, s.t.
5. Martine BRAS, Mixteam Merida / Gauss, s.t.
6. Sara MUSTONEN, Hitec Products UCK, s.t.
7. Vera KOEDOODER, Batavus Ladies Cycling Team, s.t.
8. Andrea BOSMAN, Leontien.NL, s.t.
9. Erinne WILLOCK, Canadian National Team, s.t.
10. Ellen VAN DIJK, HTC Columbia Women, s.t.
Ina pulled out sick this morning
sick today so i will miss the last 2 days of holland. pretty bumped but would be stupid to get worse at this time of the year.
Stage 5 - the ITT
This was 15.6k, on part of the same course as the morning’s race – and important, as there are just seconds in the GC – and as it was such a short course, check out the time differences
1. Ellen VAN DIJK, HTC Columbia Women, 17’04".080
2. Marianne VOS, Nederland Bloeit, 17’04".350
3. Kirsten WILD, Cervelo Test Team, 17’05".520, + 1"
4. Linda VILLUMSEN, HTC Columbia Women, 17’11".560, + 7"
5. Charlotte BECKER, Cervelo Test Team, 17’14".780, +10"
6. Regina BRUINS, Cervelo Test Team, 17’19".380, + 15"
7. Annemiek VAN VLEUTEN, Nederland Bloeit, 17’29".910, + 25"
8. Evelyn STEVENS, HTC Columbia Women, 17’33" .700, +29"
9. Emma JOHANSSON, Redsun Cycling Team, 17’35".150, + 31"
10. Trixi WORRACK, Noris Cycling, 17’36".760, + 32"
So what does that mean for the GC? Martine Bras is out of the leader’s jersey, but look at the time gaps etween the first pair… it’ll be a fun race tomorrow!
1. Kirsten WILD, Cervelo Test Team, 12.37’09"
2. Marianne VOS, Nederland Bloeit, + 3"
3. Ellen VAN DIJK, HTC Columbia Women, + 40"
4. Charlotte BECKER, Cervelo Test Team, + 50"
5. Annemiek VAN VLEUTEN, Nederland Bloeit, + 1’05"
6. Martine BRAS, Mixteam Merida / Gauss, + 1’05"
7. Emma JOHANSSON, Redsun Cycling Team, + 1’08"
8. Trixi WORRACK, Noris Cycling, + 1’12"
9. Sarah DÜSTER, Cervelo Test Team, + 1’22"
10. Regina BRUINS, Cervelo Test Team, + 1’24"
If I were Cervélo I’d be sending my riders out in breaks to eat up all the intermediate sprint points, and possibly avoid Marianne getting extra points by winning a sprint – and if I were Nederland Bloeit, I’d be looking for every escape opportunity going for Marianne…
Oh, and transfer news
Should we start a fanpost or something for transfers?
Amer Neben signs to Chirio-Forno
They've had a few US riders on their roster this summer
Tayler Wiles joined for a while after doing a couple of races with the junior US squad, and they’ve signed up Kelly Benjamin and Andrea Dvorak to join them in Ardeche.
Videos etc
Start of stage 5a – who’s the Merida-Gauss rider who gets lost?
Tiny little vid of the ITT including some seconds in a car behind a rider, & Vale Carreta finishing
Little audio interview with Annemiek Van Vleuten from Thursday
So they've not yet got round to designing costumes for the podium boys
Why is it that podium girls are always nicely turned out, but podium boys look like they just got out of bed fully dressed from the night before.
You mean that's *not* sexy?
Ha! I am imagiing the equivalent of the TdF polka girls, and laughing
by Sarah Connolly on Sep 5, 2010 6:17 AM EDT up reply actions
(I meant
it’s a look a lot of pop star boys aspire to…. when they’re not taking the boyband route or (yikes) the Pete Docherty route (shudder) & looking like they smell BAD in real life)
by Sarah Connolly on Sep 5, 2010 6:24 AM EDT up reply actions
Sounds like it's going right to the line
Manel’s twitter:
Bonus sprint 1Vos 2Wild 3Duester. Wild still leader by 1s… The last sprint in the finish line will decide the winner of the Tour.
Marianne Vos wins the final sprint and the overall race!
So exciting!
1. Marianne Vos
2. Kirsten Wild
3. Shelley Olds-Evans
1. Marianne VOS, Nederland Bloeit, 3.07’16" (+ 15" bonis)
2. Kirsten WILD, Cervelo Test Team, s.t. (+ 9" boni)
3. Shelley OLDS, USA Women Cycling Team, s.t. (+ 4" bonis)
4. Denise ZUCKERMANDEL, German National Team, s.t.
5. Martine BRAS, Mixteam Merida / Gauss, s.t.
6. Andrea BOSMAN, Leontien.NL, s.t.
7. Charlotte BECKER, Cervelo Test Team, s.t.
8. Emilia FAHLIN, HTC Columbia Women, s.t.
9. Ellen VAN DIJK, HTC Columbia Women, s.t.
10. Emma JOHANSSON, Redsun Cycling Team, s.t.
Final GC
1. Marianne VOS, Nederland Bloeit, 15.44’13"
2. Kirsten WILD, Cervelo Test Team, + 3"
3. Ellen VAN DIJK, HTC Columbia Women, + 52"
4. Charlotte BECKER, Cervelo Test Team, + 1’02"
5. Martine BRAS, Mixteam Merida / Gauss, + 1’17"
6. Emma JOHANSSON, Redsun Cycling Team, + 1’20"
7. Annemiek VAN VLEUTEN, Nederland Bloeit, + 1’21"
8. Trixi WORRACK, Noris Cycling, + 1’28"
9. Sarah DÜSTER, Cervelo Test Team, + 1’37"
10. Emilia FAHLIN, HTC Columbia Women, + 1’39"
Final GC Young Rider
1. Emilia FAHLIN, HTC Columbia Women, 15.45’52"
2. Amy PIETERS, Mixteam Merida / Gauss, + 18"
3. Valentina BASTIANELLI, Top Girls Fassa Bortolo-Ghezzi, + 19"
1. Cervélo
2. Leontien.nl
3. HTC Columbia
by Sarah Connolly on Sep 5, 2010 12:10 PM EDT up reply actions
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