Just like in 2014, a Dutch rider won La Course by Le Tour, with Anna van der Breggen succeeding her compatriot and Rabo-Liv teammate Marianne Vos on the Champs-Élysées, just before the men took centre stage. A prestigious win for the rider who claimed La Flèche Wallonne Féminine in April.
Photo: ASO/letuor.com
Winning solo on the most beautiful avenue in the world is a privilege reserved for the gutsiest riders in the Tour de France. On Sunday, July 26, Anna van der Breggen (Rabo Liv Women Cycling Team) showed it can be done in the second edition of La Course by Le Tour. The Dutch rider launched the decisive attack under driving rain with 6 km to go, shortly after the start of the 13th and final lap of the Parisian circuit.
Foiling the bunch on the Champs-Élysées takes a special kind of performance, considering how eager sprinters are to pounce on this type of finish. It rained hard almost all day long, making the road and cobblestones slippery and putting a damper on the peloton’s aggression. The first breakaway did not come until the seventh lap, when Aussie Gracie Elvin went on a solo adventure. The Orica–AIS rider spent just over a lap out front, but she was caught after enjoying a maximum buffer of 20 seconds over the front of the peloton. Her teammate and fellow countrywoman Lizzie Williams seized the chance to attack, but that did not stick either.
Meanwhile, a war of attrition was in full swing in the peloton. With even the slightest sudden touch of the brakes and the shallowest curves turned into danger zones, riders were falling all over the place. The first mass tumble took place during the second lap and eliminated three riders from the race. Further falls punctuated the race, including one that took down favourite Pauline Ferrand-Prévot just before the flamme rouge. Last year’s jinx continued for the world champion, who saw her hopes dashed by a fall in the same place as last year.
However, the French rider was able to draw some comfort from the fact that it was teammate Anna van der Breggen who was leading the race. The Dutch cyclist, who had shot out of the bunch with 6 km to go, built up a lead of up to 13 seconds, just enough to hold off the charge of a soaked but roaring peloton driven by the sprinters’ teams.
It was on the finish line that Anna van der Breggen realised she had it in the bag. She raised her arms at the end of her effort and savoured a prestigious victory with one second to spare on a peloton spearheaded by Belgium’s Jolien D’Hoore (Wiggle Honda Pro Cycling) in second place and the Netherlands’ Amy Pieters (Team Liv-Plantur) in third. 25-year-old Anna van der Breggen claimed one of the most beautiful victories in her career to go with this year’s La Flèche Wallonne and Giro d’Italia. Her triumph was dedicated to 2014 champion Marianne Vos, who had to sit out this year’s edition due to injury.
via Bicycling » Tour de France http://ift.tt/1S6zfHR
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