The warm-up to this weekend’s Ronde van Drenthe was called off after around 15km of racing. The Drentse Acht van Westerveld took to the start despite the cold and icy conditions after the snow overnight snow had melted just enough. However, on the start line, the big flakes started to come down again, ultimately leading to the race’s cancellation.
Originally scheduled to be raced over 5 laps of 28km for a total of 140.4km, the route was scaled back to a smaller loop. That would’ve seen 10 laps of 8.7km for 87km, still just about an acceptable distance considering the conditions. This was largely due to the local police not being prepared to risk their safety on the snowy roads.
However, with the new snowfall taking place with the race underway, the organisers were left with no choice but to call off the race and focus on the major Women’s WorldTour Ronde van Drenthe the following day.
Lonneke Uneken ‘won’ the race with a bike throw as the peloton coasted to the finish line and back to the team buses and hotels.
