In the stage from Saint-Connan, the yellow-black formation of sports-director Marco Postma once again showed its attacking skills. Teuntje Beekhuis was part of the early breakaway. After that group was reeled in, Koster and Floortje Mackaij attacked and seemed to be fighting for the stage victory. The two attacked with forty kilometres to go and got a maximum lead of more than one and a half minute. They were caught in the last metres, after which Henderson sprinted to her second stage victory.
“Today was another great performance by the entire team”, Henderson said. “We have shown what winning together means, what we strive for as a team. I am more than proud of my teammates and of what we have shown during these two days.”
“It was not an easy stage to control”, Henderson continued. “We had several cards to play. We had Teuntje in the early breakaway. Also, when Anouska attacked with Mackaij, it was an ideal situation for us. We had faith in Anouska that she could finish it off and it’s a pity for her that she was caught in the final metres. I was well positioned for the sprint and luckily I was able to finish it off again. I may take my first three professional victories here, but actually they are victories of the entire team. And that is really super cool.”
Teammate Koster agreed. “This really was a team effort. Everyone was very strong. If it all works out then it’s really nice to race like this. I’ve enjoyed it. It was a bit of a pity that I was caught in the last metres today, but to see Anna finishing it off again makes everything good. The important thing is that the team won. It doesn’t matter if it’s me or someone else. This is what you do it all for; winning together.”
The stage and overall victory of Henderson marks the sixth and seventh victory of Team Jumbo-Visma Women this season.
