High Road Scoop Second Straight World Cup Win at Drenthe

A lone victory for Chantal Beltman in the Ronde Van Drenthe on Saturday, April 12, has clinched Team High Road their second World Cup win in less than a week.

Ina-Yoko Teutenberg also finished on the podium in the Dutch race, taking third behind Beltman and World Champion Marianne Vos to round off a great day’s racing for High Road.

Beltman took off in a three-strong breakaway after the second section of cobbles, while teammates Linda Villumsen, Oenene Wood and Teutenberg were in the closest chasing group. The bunch initially shattered in the strong crosswinds, but then came together to chase. So with five kilometers left to race Beltman took off alone from the attack. Her advantage in the finale was never higher than 20 seconds and was down to an agonizingly narrow margin of six seconds at the finish. But the Dutchwoman pulled out all the stops to stay away for a fine lone win. Vos then won the bunch sprint, with Teutenberg in third. “It was really, really close, particularly when I was out there alone.” Beltman said afterwards. “I just kept my head down and kept going as hard as I could. I really couldn’t say I’d won until I crossed the line. Knowing that my teammates were in the bunch was a great relief. That way I didn’t have to worry if I was caught, even though I didn’t particularly want to be!” “I’ve raced in this event a huge number of times,” Beltman continued, “and knowing the course helped a great deal. On top of that, I was born close to here so it’s always more motivating to race on home terrain
- although the pressure is higher, too!”



As Beltman pointed out, following Judith Arndt’s win in the Tour of Flanders the Sunday before “…made us the team to beat. We had to incorporate that factor into our plans and—as favorites—ride aggressively from the start.”

“The wind was our seventh team-mate,” added sports director Ronny Lauke. “It kept things split up in the chase behind and made for a lot of racing in the gutter. But it was a great team effort, as well. Chantal did brilliantly but her teammates were there all the way through, too. Having them all in that chase group when she was in the break was the ideal scenario. After Flanders we were the team to watch. But it’s curious, the more pressure we have to win the better we seem to go as a team!”



Lauke made a point of thanking team mechanic Gregor Willwohl for his efforts before and during the race. “He’s spent a lot of time getting the bikes ready for this race, and we all felt the benefit. We didn’t even get one puncture!” That’s a remarkable achievement on a race comparable to Paris-Roubaix for its cobbled sections and tough terrain.

This report was edited from an account of the race victory found at:
http://www.highroadsports.com/news/113-High-Road-Scoop-Second-Straight-World-Cup-Win-at-Drenthe

Team High Road races the prototype Giant TCR Advanced SL bicycle.