Shirin van Anrooij wins Tour de l’Avenir stage and GC with solo break on final day

Mathew Mitchell

Published on September 1, 2023
in Women's Cycling

In a display of resilience and skill, Dutch cyclist Shirin van Anrooij claimed victory at the Tour de l’Avenir Femmes. Van Anrooij not only triumphed in the final stage of the race but also secured the overall win in the race. It’s the second major win of her road season after winning Trofeo Alfredo Binda earlier in the year.

Today’s fifth and final stage presented a stern test for the young competitors. Despite covering just 98.3 kilometres, the cyclists had to navigate three categorised climbs. Antonia Niedermaier from Germany began the final stage as the leader, but a trio of riders were closely trailing her.

Despite no live coverage at all, sources confirmed that a powerful lead group formed almost immediately during the first tough ascent. Included among the frontrunners were Niedermaier, Gaia Realini from Italy, Anna Shackley from Great Britain, and Dutch cyclists Shirin van Anrooij and Fem van Empel. Others in this dominant set were Marion Bunel from the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region and Swiss cyclist Petra Stiasny.

However, the lead group didn’t last long. Realini, who had shown her climbing prowess the previous day, took the initiative and pulled away early during the second climb. At one point, Realini had built a lead of over a minute on the Cormet de Roselend. Yet, Van Anrooij managed her effort expertly. A few kilometres from the peak, she reeled in the Italian.

Even more impressively, Van Anrooij then overtook Realini and put her cyclocross skills to good use in the descent, building a significant lead of three minutes and 20 seconds on Realini and around 2 minutes on Shackley. With only ten kilometres remaining, Van Anrooij maintained this lead till the end, crossing the finish line solo in Sainte-Foy-Tarentaise.

By virtue of her significant lead, Van Anrooij won not just the stage but also the overall classification. Shackley claimed the second spot in both the stage and the overall rankings. Stiasny rounded off the podium for the stage, while Realini finished fourth, securing her third place in the overall standings. The leader at the start of the day, Niedermaier, dropped to 4th in the final GC.