Riejanne Markus has had to give up the leader’s jersey in the queen stage of the Ladies Tour of Norway. The 26-year-old rider of Team Jumbo-Visma Women had to give in on the final climb of the third stage when stage winner Annemiek van Vleuten went on the attack. Markus finished fourteenth in Norefjell.
The Dutch rider had to pay for her impressive effort yesterday in the ten-kilometre long final climb to the ski resort in Norefjell, but remains in the top ten of the general classification. “It went really well today. The girls controlled the whole day. It was a very hectic lead-out to the final climb, but on the first part I was with the first group. At three kilometres from the finish, the first serious attacks came. Then I rode my own pace and fought as hard as I could to lose as little time as possible. I surprised myself today and I’m definitely happy with that.”
“I FOUGHT AS HARD AS I COULD TO LOSE AS LITTLE TIME AS POSSIBLE.”
Riejanne Markus
Sports director Lieselot Decroix: “There was a lot of movement in the peloton today. A lot of attacking attempts. Amber Kraak and Julie Van de Velde managed to control the race in the first phase. The plan was to position Riejanne as good as possible and help her during the final climb. Anouska Koster and Nancy van der Burg brought Riejanne in position for the beginning of the climb. In the last kilometres, Riejanne held her ground. The girls can be proud of their team performance today.”