Tour of Chongming Island in 2019 followed a familiar pattern on paper. The stages were flat, the speeds were high, and each day ended in a bunch sprint. That usually means one dominant sprinter can control the week, and that is exactly what happened as Lorena Wiebes won all three stages and the overall title.
For Doltcini-Van Eyck Sport, though, this was still a very good race. They did not have the outright fastest finisher in the field, but they found another way to leave a mark. By the end of the three days, they had taken 3rd in the team classification and placed four riders inside the top 25 overall. In a race where sprint dominance from one rider can make the rest of the field look anonymous, that was a strong collective return.
Stage 1 – an open approach pays off
The team started the race with a relatively open plan, giving several riders the freedom to see how the finish developed rather than committing everything to one fixed sprint option. That worked well.
Saartje Vandenbroucke, not the most obvious finisher on paper, came through for 8th place in the sprint. Pascale Jeuland followed in 14th, Bryony van Velzen in 15th and Kelly Markus in 18th. With four riders inside the top 20, Doltcini-Van Eyck Sport immediately put themselves in a strong position in the team classification. Victoire Berteau finished 28th and Daniela Reis 71st.
That was an encouraging start because it showed the team had depth rather than a single point of reliance. Even in a race likely to be dominated by pure sprinting, they had several riders capable of getting involved.
Stage 2 – Jeuland leads the way in a faster finish
The second stage was raced at the kind of relentless speed Chongming has become known for. The average was high, the bunch stayed alert to every move, and bonus seconds drew several teams into attacks and counter-attacks that never quite stuck.
Doltcini-Van Eyck Sport were active through that phase and clearly wanted to improve their position in the general classification, but like much of the field they were eventually pulled back into another sprint finish.
This time Jeuland was their best finisher, taking 5th place with support from Reis and Berteau in the run-in. Markus again finished strongly in 10th, van Velzen was 16th, Berteau 20th, Vandenbroucke 37th and Reis 85th.
That gave the team another solid stage result and, more importantly, kept several riders high up in the overall standings. At that point, the pattern of the race was clear. They were not going to beat Wiebes for the stage wins, but they were repeatedly proving themselves to be one of the most consistent teams behind her.
Stage 3 – consolidating the overall picture
Going into the final stage, Doltcini-Van Eyck Sport were trying to improve their position in the team classification, the young rider standings and the overall classification. In a race like Chongming, that is never easy because flat stages tend to offer limited chances to change the order unless bonus seconds or positioning open a small gap.
They did not manage a dramatic late shift in the standings, but they did finish the race strongly. Van Velzen took 10th on the stage, Jeuland was 13th, Markus 18th, Berteau 22nd and Reis 69th.
Those placings were enough to keep the team 3rd in the team classification, while also confirming a strong overall week from a squad that had placed multiple riders near the front every day.
Why this was a strong race for Doltcini-Van Eyck Sport
What made Chongming such a positive race for Doltcini-Van Eyck Sport was the consistency across the whole team. They did not rely on one rider to save the week. Instead, different riders stepped forward on different days.
Vandenbroucke was their best finisher on stage 1. Jeuland led the team on stage 2. Van Velzen finished best on the final day. Markus was consistently close to the front, and Berteau and Reis both played useful support roles along the way.
That sort of spread matters in a race like this. Flat stage races can become repetitive very quickly if a team lacks the speed to challenge for victory, but Doltcini-Van Eyck Sport avoided fading into the background by using their depth intelligently. They were consistently present, consistently scoring, and consistently doing enough to keep themselves relevant.
A race defined by collective strength
The headline story of the 2019 Tour of Chongming Island was Wiebes’ clean sweep, but that did not stop Doltcini-Van Eyck Sport from having a successful week of their own. Finishing 3rd in the team classification and placing four riders inside the top 25 overall was a strong return from a WorldTour sprint race where margins were tight and the top step was effectively out of reach for everyone else.
That is what made their performance stand out. They did not need a podium to prove they had raced well. Their strength came from numbers, organisation and consistency, and across three fast, flat stages that was enough to make this one of their more solid stage-race performances of the season.
Results powered by FirstCycling.com
