Markus prolongs Dutch time trial title, silver for Nooijen
Riejanne Markus has once again crowned herself the Dutch champion in the time trial. The 29-year-old was half a minute faster in Steenbergen than teammate Lieke Nooijen, who surprisingly grabbed the silver.
Nooijen set a sharp time at both the halfway point and the finish line. The competition then continually beat the time of the Team Visma | Lease a Bike rider. Markus started last and proved to be even faster than her teammate along the way. On the finish line the difference was thirty seconds in Markus' favor, who thus prolonged her time trial title.
"Beforehand, I could only dream of this scenario," Markus said. "I knew I had a good chance, but at the same time I was aware that it was going to be very difficult. It feels a little unreal that I get to grab this title for the second year in a row. Things have been going very well lately. This title feels a bit like the icing on the cake."
"This title feels like the icing on the cake"
Nooijen is also delighted with the time trial result. "This is a wonderful scenario. I grant Riejanne the jersey wholeheartedly and am very happy that I get to stand next to her on the podium. I am very satisfied with my performance. We are going to enjoy this together," Nooijen said.