Write Up

There were horrible conditions for the penultimate round of the World Cup in Rotterdam on Sunday. The wind was very, very strong and although it did not rain heavily, there were some wet patches on the roads. Points of particular concern for the riders were the bridges and the dam which were included on the course and which may have been affected by strong cross winds. There were several crashes, caused when the wind blew riders across the road. 

The decisive break was made early on - about one third into the 138km race. As the frontrunners extended the time gap, it was a case of hanging onto the back of the chasing group for others. Where gaps appeared in the groups, it took strong riders to close them again, especially in the headwind and crosswind sections. 

Arriving in Rotterdam for a final 3 laps, totalling just over 10km, the leaders meant business. World Cup leader, Nicole Cooke (Univega) had several team-mates with her and Priska Doppmann tried to get away with 3 laps to go. She was back in the group the next time they passed the finish line and in the closing kilometres, the pace was kept high by T-Mobile's Judith Arndt. 

The sprint was concentrated towards the right-hand barriers and it was Ina-Yoko Teutenberg (T-Mobile) who won in style. She repeated her Rotterdam win of one year ago and capped-off a successful week for the team in the Holland Ladies Tour, which finished on Saturday. Teutenberg won two stages and Arndt one.

Nicole Cooke finished fourth, giving her enough points in the World Cup series to retain the lead and in fact win the 2006 competition. Her nearest rival before the race, Judith Arndt finished 12th, meaning that Cooke now has an unassailable lead even though there is still the final round to come and despite the fact that double points are on offer.

Back to top

Results

Back to top

Current Rankings