Two days after the Drentse Acht van Westerveld, the Ronde van Drenthe was on the program on Sunday. The first World Tour race for Team Hitec Products – Birk Sport in this season and already the tenth year in a row that team took part in the race. Just like Friday it was a tough day for the peloton. This time without a good result for the team, for a large part because of bad luck.
The first race of the long weekend in Drenthe has been a very hard one. Only 36 riders made it to the finish, with a front group of eight riders battling for the win. Behind them, Lucy Garner sprinted to a twelfth place and Lonneke Uneken came in as 21st. “It had a bit of everything today”, Lucy said after the finish. “The wind obviously played a massive role.”
With the Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, Omloop van het Hageland and Le Samyn des Dames, Team Hitec Products – Birk Sport raced their first three races of the season last week. “Three races that we more or less used as training camp”, says sports director Tone Hatteland Lima. “All riders started and all the staff has been together, to create a good at atmosphere and cooperation for the coming season.”