Nederland Bloeit completes domination of 2011 competition after Emma Pooley tries for a hat trick in Breton race
Annemiek van Vleuten (Nederland Bloeit) completed her team’s domination of this year’s World Cup, with victory in the Grand Prix Plouay. The Dutchwoman, already dressed in the jersey of World Cup leader, easily managed to outsprint breakaway companion Evelyn Stevens (HTC-Highroad), at the end of the 114.6km race, after the two riders escaped a highly select group with just 5km to go.
Van Vleuten’s Nederland Bloeit captain Marianne Vos outsprinted Chantal Blaak (AA Drink-Leontien.nl) and Erinne Willock (Tibco-To the Top) 46 seconds later, to take the final place on the podium.
Stevens and van Vleuten’s late attack came after a long solo break from Emma Pooley (Garmin-Cervélo), the winner of the two previous editions of the race, was single-handedly pulled back by Vos.
The race was run over six laps of a hilly 19.1km circuit around the cycling-mad village of Plouay in southern Brittany, in western France. As the last event in the season-long World Cup it was to decide the winner of the competition, which was to be either van Vleuten or Vos, after the Dutch team’s dominance in 2011.
The peloton remained together for the first lap but, midway through the second, Sharon Laws (Garmin-Cervélo) attacked and got away. The British rider was joined by Stevens and Willock, and the three riders crossed the line 25 seconds ahead of the peloton.
In the course of lap three Laws was left behind by Stevens and Willock, as she dropped back to help a chase group that was trying to get across. The peloton was still just 30 seconds behind the two leaders, and as the finish line approached for the third time, double defending champion Pooley, World Cup leader van Vleuten and Blaak joined up with the front two.
At the start of lap four, half way through the race, the five leaders were 50 seconds clear of the peloton, which was splitting up on the exposed, hilly course. With four of the strongest teams in the race represented in the break, there was little anybody in the peloton could do to stop its advantage growing.
At the end of lap four, the five riders were 1’40” ahead and, on the first climb of lap five, Pooley put in one of her trademark attacks, which none of the others could follow. Meanwhile, behind her, Vos attacked the small chasing group in an effort to get across to teammate van Vleuten ahead. The World Cup leader, in the knowledge that Vos was on her way across, moved to the back of the group and stopped helping in the pursuit of Pooley.
With 30km to go Pooley had a healthy gap over her four former comrades, while Vos was now 1’26” behind and gaining.
With 26km to go, Vos caught the four chasers and, without pausing for breath, moved to the front of the group and continued. The Vos/Pooley duel that dominated July’s Giro d’Italia Femminile was on again as the Dutch champion was going one-on-one with the British rider once more.
Not wanting to arrive at the finish with Vos though, Stevens attacked the group on the final climb of the lap, opening up a gap over the three Dutch and one Canadian riders. As the American began to pull away van Vleuten moved forward to help Vos with the chase but; Blaak and Willock were quite happy to allow the two Nederland Bloeit riders to do all of the work. With 25km to go, Pooley’s lead was up to 40 seconds but, with the two Nederland Bloeit riders chasing, the gap was beginning to close.
A little more than kilometre from the end of the lap Stevens was caught, leaving just Pooley up the road alone. As the Briton took the bell for the final 19.1km lap, she was 28 seconds ahead of the group of five, which was still led by the two Nederland Bloeit riders.
With 18km to go van Vleuten dropped to the back of the group and, with the others still refusing to work, the race was returned to a Vos/Pooley duel once more. Vos had closed the gap a little to 27 seconds with 17km to go and, with the Dutch champion low over the front of her bike, it was all the others could do to hold on.
Under the banner with 15km to go Pooley’s lead was down to 25 seconds. The remaining chasers, in the group that Vos had attacked from, were now more than three minutes back; the race would now be decided between the World time trial champion and her five pursuers.
Inside the final 12km the gap was down to just 19 seconds and, on the straighter sections of the road, Vos had Pooley in sight. Despite the Garmin-Cervélo carrot dangling ahead though, the Dutch champion was having trouble closing the gap further, and Pooley’s lead was static with 10km to go. On the flat section , at the back of the circuit, between the two climbs though, Vos began to inch closer and closer as her raw power overcame that of the tiny British climber.
On the final climb of the race, at almost exactly 5km to go, where Pooley had made her successful attack to win last year’s race the Briton was finally caught. Stevens, who’d been sitting at the back of the group for some time, attacked immediately, with van Vleuten going with her.
As the two riders began to distance the other three, Vos put in a brief attack to try to join them; Willock was on her straight away though, and the Dutch champion eased up, allowing her teammate to escape.
With 3.5km to go Stevens and van Vleuten were already 21 seconds ahead, with the Nederland Bloeit doing none of the work. Having sat on for the best part of 25km Willock and Blaak were now working hard, but the strength of the American time trial champion was coming to bear, and the pair was increasing its lead.
Under the flamme rouge, with one kilometre remaining, van Vleuten was still tucked in safely behind Stevens but, as they came into the finishing straight, the Dutchwoman launched her sprint and the HTC-Highroad rider had no answer.
46 seconds later Vos, despite having done so much work in the last two laps, outsprinted Blaak without much trouble, with Willock rolling over the line behind the two Dutchwomen. Pooley, who had come close to a Plouay hat trick, finished a minutes behind.
The remains of the second chase group was led home by Judith Arndt (HTC-Highroad), ahead of Joëlle Numainville (Team Tibco-To the Top), Rasa Leleivyte (Vaiano-Solaristech), and Emma Johansson (Hitec Products-UCK).
Van Vleuten’s victory is her third in the 2011 World Cup, after the Ronde van Vlaanderen in April, and the Open de Suede Vårgårda at the beginning of August. The Nederland Bloeit rider takes the overall competition, ahead of teammate Vos, who also won three rounds (Ronde van Drenthe, la Flèche Wallonne, and GP Cuidad de Valladolid), with Johansson in third place.
Result Grand Prix Plouay
1. Annemiek van Vleuten (Ned) Nederland Bloeit
2. Evelyn Stevens (USA) HTC-Highroad @ 3s
3. Marianne Vos (Ned) Nederland Bloeit @ 46s
4. Chantal Blaak (Ned) AA Drink-Leontien.nl
5. Erinne Willock (Can) Team Tibco-To the Top @ 49s
6. Emma Pooley (GBr) Garmin-Cervélo @ 1'06"
7. Judith Arndt (Ger) HTC-Highroad @ 5'45"
8. Joëlle Numainville (Can) Team Tibco-To the Top
9. Rasa Leleivyte (Ltu) Vaiano-Solaristech
10. Emma Johansson (Swe) Hitec Products-UCK
Final 2011 World Cup standings
1. Annemiek van Vleuten (Ned) Nederland Bloeit 362pts
2. Marianne Vos (Ned) Nederland Bloeit 315
3. Emma Johansson (Swe) Hitec Products-UCK 223
4. Judith Arndt (Ger) HTC-Highroad 184
5. Ina Teutenberg (Ger) HTC-Highroad 163
6. Emma Pooley (GBr) Garmin-Cervélo 135
7. Elizabeth Armitstead (GBr) Garmin-Cervélo 117
8. Kirsten Wild (Ned) AA Drink-Leontien.nl 108
9. Martine Bras (Ned) Dolmans Landscaping Te103am
10. Tatiana Antoshina (Rus) Gauss-RDZ-Ormu 87