Nienke Veenhoven powered Visma–Lease a Bike to a sweep at the Gatineau Tour on Saturday, winning from a breakaway sprint. Teammates Martina Fidanza and Margaux Vigié completed the podium in second and third, with Lieke Nooijen close behind in fourth. Canada’s Laury Millette (Québec) rounded out the top five.
“Really fun, we raced a very nice race with the team and I’m very happy with that,” Veenhoven said of her second professional victory of the season.
“It’s always nice to win a race of course but especially after what the girls did today for me, that they believed in me. It’s really, really special.”
“We tried to race hard from the start, and we did, and we also made a very nice plan[towardsthefinishAndthegirlsdidareallygoodjobtoputmeinawinningpositionandI’mreallyproudofthem”[towardsthefinishAndthegirlsdidareallygoodjobtoputmeinawinningpositionandI’mreallyproudofthem”[towardsthefinishAndthegirlsdidareallygoodjobtoputmeinawinningpositionandI’mreallyproudofthem”[towardsthefinishAndthegirlsdidareallygoodjobtoputmeinawinningpositionandI’mreallyproudofthem”
In addition to the six Visma riders, the break included Millette, Skyler Goudswaard (The Cyclery Racing), Mathilde Huot (Milton Revolution Women’s U23 Project), Joséphine Péloquin (LA Sweat Racing), Sofa Arreola Navarro (Virginia’s Blue Ridge TWENTY28) and Karlijn Koops (Orion Racing).
On the bell lap, Gouthard and Huot moved to the back, trying to position themselves against the Visma juggernaut for the final sprint. The fight to get on Visma’s sixth rider’s wheel animated the final two kilometres, as the Visma squad accelerated at the front.
Results
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