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10 Observations From Opening Women's Classics |
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March 10th 2014 |
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With the first week of the classics season underway and the
first World Cup fast approaching here are 10 observations
after Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, Le Samyn des Dames and Omloop van
het Hageland.
10 Observations
Emma Johansson shows why she is
World Number 1
She might not always win but is she is always there. Took 2nd
at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, won Le Samyn des Dames and backed up
with another second at Omloop van het Hageland. Was third at
all three races last year and despite her already excellent
record has improved in each. Her team was left outnumbered at
times which is very unusual but the individual strength of
Johansson cannot be avoided. Has arguably one of the strongest
teams in the world to support her, it will take something very
special to stop Johansson taking out the first World Cup round
of Boels Rental Ronde van Drenthe on Saturday.
Amy Pieters breaks through
Had a strong 2013 with 3rd at Tour of Chongming Island World
Cup and Open de Suède Vargarda but Pieters has been the
biggest revelation so far this year. Took a stage and 2nd
overall at the Tour of Qatar and her strong form has continued
in to the opening classics. Made the move at Omloop Het
Nieuwsblad and outsprinted Johansson and Armitstead to take
the win. Followed up four days later taking 7th at Le Samyn
des Dames. On a team with Wild means she will not necessarily
be the protected rider but has already proved can podium in
World Cups.
Lizzie Armitstead is back on top
After a hard 2013 Armitstead took her second podium of the
year with a 3rd place finish at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad after
instigating the race winning move. Sat out Le Samyn but
returned with another dominant performance at Omloop van het
Hageland again making the main move of the day with Emma
Johansson. Armitstead bested Johansson to take the win.
Incredibly other than her National Championship victory last
year it was her first UCI victory in two years where she had
won here. After over 20 top 10 finishes last year the pressure
is now off, expect Armitstead to continue to perform well.
Sofie de Vuyst surprises with three
top 10 finishes
Spent four years with the Lotto-Belisol squad and last year
with Sengers Ladies Team during which time she was
consistently present in the classics normally in or around
20th, with several top 10’s. Now on the smaller
Futurumshop.nl-Zannata she has had more of a chance to step up
and step up she has. De Vuyst has been another revelation of
the first week of racing in Belgium. Made the main move but
missed the final split at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad but finished a
strong 6th. Again making the main selection at Le Samyn taking
the final spot on the podium in the uphill sprint. De Vuyst
then wrapped up the week of racing with 5th at Omloop van het
Hageland. With the only rider to have a better record across
all three races Emma Johansson de Vuyst has made herself a
real outsider for Ronde van Drenthe this coming weekend.
Wiggle Honda absent
The 5th ranked women's team has been largely absent in the
opening three races. Their best result came at Le Samyn with
Emilia Fahlin sprinting to 9th. The teams top finisher at Het
Nieuwsblad was Charlotte Becker in 56th over six minutes back.
Defending champion Emily Collins took 25th at Omloop van het
Hageland but the team was again far from being involved in the
action. The teams star rider Giorgia Bronzini sat out all
three races and nobody else really stepped up to fill the
void. Unlucky in some places with crashes but the other big
teams managed to have some riders avoid the damage and
involved in the final stages of racing.
Boels Dolmans dominant
Boels-Dolmans recruitment drive over the off season and the
performance of existing riders has paid dividends. The team
has been in the action in all three races. Armitstead took 3rd
at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad and they put six in the top 20. Van
Dijk finished 4th at Le Samyn and Armitstead took the win at
Omloop van het Hageland and they finished with Daams and
Kessler also in the top 20. With multiple riders performing
will be a big threat at Ronde van Drenthe with multiple cards
to play.
Rabo
A team that counts World Champion Marianne Vos is always going
to be expected to perform well especially when they also have
names like former World Cup winner Annemiek van Vleuten and
Anna van der Breggen on the team. The team hasn't disappointed
with Van Vleuten taking 9th and two others making the main
chase group at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad. Had Niewiadoma,
Knetemann and Slappendel in finish in the main bunch at Le
Samyn. Might have missed the podium but with three riders in
the top 10 at Omloop van het Hageland the signs heading in to
Ronde van Drenthe are promising.
Hitec's new recruits shine
South African Champion Ashleigh Moolman started her European
campaign with 8th at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad and finished 2nd
behind Johansson in the uphill sprint at Le Samyn des Dames.
After giving the team a strong start Moolman was unfortunately
taken out of contention in Omloop van het Hageland by a crash.
The depth of talent in the team ensured they were still
involved, with Audrey Cordon winning the sprint from a chase
group for third after finishing in the main chase group of
bunch in the previous two races. Elisa Longo Borghini has also
given the team something to smile about with 8th and 10th at
Le Samyn and Omloop van het Hageland respectively.
UCI Points Dilemma
Despite attracting the world's biggest teams and Omloop Het
Nieuwsblad being run along side the men's race all three are
rated 1.2. In comparison the three one day races in El
Salvador the past week Grand Prix GSB, Grand Prix de Oriente
and Grand Prix el Salvador are all rated 1.1. In itself the
difference may seem unimportant but the UCI points on offer
are double and are awarded to the top 18 riders instead of
just the top 10 riders. Globalisation of the sport is
important and having .1 races allows riders from American
nations to chase points to qualify spots for World
Championships. But when you look at the results many of the
top 10 places are filled with riders from Rusvelo, Astana
BePink and UnitedHealthCare. All teams with extensive European
programs.
Crashes
As is traditional with many one day races organisers invite
club and mix teams allowing riders to gain experience and race
against some of the best. As has become common the first three
races saw a number of crashes in the early stages including in
the neutral zone. The fast pace and often narrow roads sees
close to 200 riders fighting for position with everyone
wanting to be at the front. While there is no question smaller
club and mix teams should continue to be invited the safety
aspect is something that may need to be looked at. |
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