Van Emden wins Dutch time trial championship for third time
Jos van Emden has won the Dutch time trial championship for the third time. The 38-year-old rider raced around Elspeet in a time of 49:15, eighteen seconds ahead of Daan Hoole. Tim van Dijke and Wilco Kelderman finished seventh and ninth, respectively, for Team Jumbo-Visma.
The list of favourites in the men's race was long, and the intermediate times reflected this. Van Emden immediately took control of the race but was only seconds ahead of his closest rivals. However, the former Giro d'Italia stage winner accelerated on the second lap and extended his lead. An average speed of 51.776 kilometres per hour was enough for the win. Team Jumbo-Visma's season tally now stands at 38 victories.
"Deze zege is ontzettend mooi en een hoogtepunt in mijn carrière."
"I didn't expect this”, a happy Van Emden said. "Last year, I didn't do any great time trials. Last week at the ZLM Tour, I felt things were going well after my COVID infection in May, so I was ambitious. Still, I didn't think I could become champion, although I realised during the race that I was riding a good time trial. Mathieu Heijboer in the follow car was also enthusiastic. That gave me an extra boost. This victory is fantastic and a highlight in my career.”
