Lorena Wiebes of Team DSM has taken the victory at the Ronde van Drenthe, the final WorldTour race of the 2021 season. She won from a reduced sprint of seven riders, who had over a minute’s lead on the chasing group, to notch up her thirteenth victory of the year.
The race, mostly flat in the northern part of the Netherlands, featured cobbled sectors and four ascents of the VAMberg, the last one appearing 15km ahead of the finish in Hoogeveen.
An early break consisting of Janneke Ensing and Lieke Nooijen was brought back after around 80km in the saddle, with subsequent attacks also being neutralised by teams that were keen to bring the season’s final WorldTour race to its expected sprint finish.
Just after a move by recently-crowned British champion Pfeiffer Georgi and Alice Barnes was reeled back in the lead-up to the final ascent of the VAMberg, came an attack from Elise Chabbey, Floortje Mackaij and Elena Cecchini. The leading trio was pursued into the finale by Team DSM and their sprint leader Lorena wiebes, with the squad pushing the pace to successfully fend off the chasing field, and keep Wiebes at the head of the race. The effort ultimately paid dividends, with the Dutch sprinter dominating the sprint ahead of Cecchini and Gasparrini, the latter taking her second podium in a row in the Netherlands after her third place at The Drentse Acht van Westerveld.
