Dutch sensation wins GPs Elsy Jacobs and Nicolas Frantz with identical top five both times
After HTC-Highroad’s victory in Friday night’s Elsy Jacob’s City Trophy team time trial, the rest of the Luxembourg Festival of Women’s Cycling belonged to Marianne Vos (Nederland Bloeit), with the Dutch all-round sensation taking victory in both Saturday’s GP Elsy Jacobs and Sunday’s GP Nicolas Frantz.
Just as British champion Emma Pooley did last year, Vos has followed her victory in Flèche Wallonne with a win the GP Elsy Jacobs on Saturday. The 23-year-old outsprinted the rest of a three-rider breakaway at the end of the tough 114km race in Garnich, Luxembourg. Judith Arndt (HTC-Highroad) finished second on the uphill finishing straight, with Swedish champion Emma Johansson (Hitec Products-UCK) in third.
Vos’ teammate Annemiek van Vleuten, the winner of the Ronde van Vlaanderen, won the sprint for fourth place; ahead of 19-year-old French prodigy Pauline Ferrand Prevot (French National Team) in a small group some 2’14 behind the leading trio.
Vos chose to win Sunday’s GP Nicolas Frantz in solo fashion, as she attacked the rest of a six-rider group on the last climb of the final of six 7km laps, with 2km to go. The group, which also included Arndt, Johansson, van Vleuten, Ferrand Prevot and Noemi Cantele (Garmin-Cervélo), had escaped the peloton with just 21km of the 96km race remaining.
The presence of teammate van Vleuten in the group proved invaluable to Vos and the rest had no answer to her powerful attack. Vos managed to pull out a gap of 42 seconds over the other five, who were led home by Arndt, over Johansson, van Vleuten and Ferrand Prevot to make an identical top five to the day before.
Result GP Elsy Jacobs – April 30th, 2011
1. Marianne Vos (Ned) Nederland Bloeit
2. Judith Arndt (Ger) HTC-Highroad
3. Emma Johansson (Swe) Hitec Products-UCK
4. Annemiek van Vleuten (Ned) Nederland Bloeit @ 2’14”
5. Pauline Ferrand Prevot (Fra) French National Team
6. Nicole Cooke (GBr) MCipollini-Gambenini
7. Evelyn Stevens (USA) HTC-Highroad
8. Tatiana Guderzo (Ita) MCipollini-Gambenini @ 2’31”
9. Lucinda Brand (Ned) AA Drink-Leontien.nl @ 4’48”
10. Martine Bras (Ned) Dolmans Landscaping Team @ 7’00”
Result GP Nicolas Frantz – May 1st, 2011
1. Marianne Vos (Ned) Nederland Bloeit
2. Judith Arndt (Ger) HTC-Highroad @ 42s
3. Emma Johansson (Swe) Hitec Products-UCK
4. Annemiek van Vleuten (Ned) Nederland Bloeit
5. Pauline Ferrand Prevot (Fra) French National Team
6. Noemi Cantele (Ita) Garmin-Cervélo
7. Liesbet de Vocht (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen 2012-Ridley @ 1’06”
8. Rochelle Gilmore (Aus) Lotto Honda Team
9. Christine Majerus (Lux) Team GSD Gestion
10. Lucinda Brand (Ned) AA Drink-Leontien.nl