Amber Kraak has won the Volta Limburg Classic. The Dutch rider of Team Jumbo-Visma achieved her first professional victory. Teammate Anouska Koster finished second in the chasing group.

Kraak, Koster and Teuntje Beekhuis went on the attack at about fifty kilometres to go and several riders joined them. At twenty kilometres from the line, Kraak escaped from the front group and slowly built her advantage. She crossed the finish line cheering, more than a minute ahead of her pursuers.

“I went in quite uninhibited because we rode this race with three individual riders”, Kraak said. “We worked well as a team. On the Moerslag, we were always with three riders in front and during the fourth passage, the peloton broke. Then we could play the game, which was quite new for me, and we kept attacking. Eventually, I got a gap. It felt good to keep going because I knew my teammates were behind me. If I got caught, they would still be there. Whether it tastes like more? I’m going to enjoy this first.”

Kraak is a former rowing star. Until 2019, she was part of the Dutch selection for the Olympic Games in Tokyo but lost the pleasure of rowing because she was often in the boat alone. Kraak decided to focus on cycling and switched to the Dutch World Tour team in the summer.

It is the first road victory of the season for the women’s team of Team Jumbo Visma’s.
Beekhuis won the mountain prize today.