On the final day of the Princess Anna Vasa Tour, Lieke Nooijen delivered a strong performance to secure the overall victory. The Dutch rider from Visma | Lease a Bike dominated the individual time trial, held in Golub-Dobrzyล, Poland, covering the 13-kilometre course in 17 minutes and 41 seconds.
The time trial course began and ended in Golub-Dobrzyล, featuring long, flat sections that allowed riders to maintain high speeds. Despite heavy rain at the start, the weather conditions improved slightly for the later starters. Alina Bogdan of Ukraine was the first to leave the start ramp at 9:59, followed by riders at one-minute intervals.
Dominika Wลodarczyk, representing Poland, briefly led the standings with a time of 18:24 until the Dutch trio took to the course. Riejanne Markus, starting among the favourites, posted a strong initial time of 17:51, surpassing Carlijn Achtereekte’s effort. However, Lieke Nooijenโs remarkable performance in the rainy conditions secured her both the stage win and the overall victory.
โDespite the bad conditions, I knew it was a course that would suit me well,โ Nooijen commented. โYesterday I won the stage, which allowed me to start today in the leader’s jersey; this gave me extra motivation to go for it today. With the long sections in the course, I could set much pace; luckily, that went very well today.โ
Markus and Achtereekte completed the podium, finishing second and third respectively. Nooijen, who is riding her first year with Visma | Lease a Bike, expressed satisfaction with her development. โTogether with Maarten van Kooij, my trainer, I have already made big steps. We have set goals, and things are getting better and better; fortunately, this is also reflected in the results. In addition, I always work with a nice group of riders and staff with whom I have a good relationship and who always help me.โ
Reflecting on the team’s performance, Nooijen added, โThe win in the team time trial was, of course, already very nice. The second day did not go as planned, but in the third stage, we recovered well as a team, and I was happy to win. To now also win the final time trial and to finish on the podium with Riejanne and Carlijn is the perfect ending to this week.โ
The Princess Anna Vasa Tour concluded with Nooijen taking the top step of the podium, flanked by her teammates Markus and Achtereekte. Their dominant performance was underscored by Nooijenโs consistency throughout the race, having also won the opening team time trial and the third stage.
2024 Princess Anna Vasa Tour Stage 4 result
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2024 Princess Anna Vasa Tour GC result
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