Top ten finishes for Swinkels and Henderson at Tour of Drenthe
Karlijn Swinkels and Anna Henderson have finished eighth and tenth, respectively, in the Tour of Drenthe. A sprint in a large group decided the race. The course was changed at the last minute due to the heavy snowfall of the last few days. The victory went to Lorena Wiebes.
The past few days have seen winter scenes in Drenthe. On Friday, the Drentse Acht van Westerveld was cancelled due to heavy snowfall. The weather also played a role today. Before the start of the race, the organisation decided to change the distance and the course considerably. In the end, the peloton braved the snowy VAM mountain six times over 96 kilometres.
"It was a hectic start of the race"
Until a significant crash split the peloton, it had been riding together for the first thirty kilometers. Swinkels and Henderson were part of a lead group of twelve riders for a long time. "It was a hectic race”, Henderson said. "We rode well as a team, which allowed me to join the breakaway with Karlijn. The conditions got better as the race went on.”
With 11 kilometers remaining, the margin decreased thanks to the sprinter teams' efforts, and a sprint from a large group proved inevitable. In that sprint, Swinkels and Henderson finished eighth and tenth. "Nobody knew the finish because of the confusing course adjustment. In the end, it felt good to be in the top ten”, the British rider of Team Jumbo-Visma said.
Sports director Carmen Small praised the team spirit of ‘her’ riders. "It was good to see the team race, our main goal. Despite the chaotic beginning, we maintained control and were in the lead. We had hoped for a better outcome, but we will keep trying to do better.”
