Tom Dumoulin and Anna van der Breggen were named as Dutch cyclists of the year at a ceremony in Rosmalen on Friday evening. Dumoulin claimed the prize for the third successive season, while the Olympic champion Van der Breggen was the women’s laureate for the second year in a row.
Dumoulin’s season featured victory on home roads in the opening day time trial of the Giro d’Italia in Apeldoorn, two stage wins at the Tour de France and a silver medal in the time trial at the Rio 2016 Olympics.
2016 also saw Wout Poels (Sky) win Liège-Bastogne-Liège, marking the Netherlands’ first win there since Adrie van der Poel in 1988, while Steven Kruijswijk (LottoNL-Jumbo) finished 4th at the Giro, having looked set to become the first Dutch Grand Tour winner since 1980.
ADVERTISEMENT
Dumoulin, meanwhile, had showcased his potential as a Grand Tour contender with an impressive display at the 2015 Vuelta a España, but shelved his three-week ambitions this season in order to prepare specifically for the Olympic Games time trial.
The Giant-Alpecin rider showed sustained flashes of his ability in the mountains in 2016, however, including during his spell in the maglia rosa at the Giro, and again en route to stage victory in Andorra at the Tour, which was the stand-out moment of his campaign.
“There have been many wonderful moments for me this year,” Dumoulin told De Telegraaf. “It started with the time trial win in the Giro, but the queen stage of the Tour to Arcalis in Andorra stand above that. The bad weather in the finale, and the fact that it was considered the biggest stage of the race means that I consider it to be the highlight.”
You can read more at Cyclingnews.com
via Cyclingnews Latest News http://ift.tt/2fGI3nH
No comments:
Post a Comment