Armitstead wins Boels Rental Hills Classic

Lizzie Armitstead won the Boels Rental Hills Classic on Friday in the Netherlands. The Boels-Dolmans rider was a part of a five-woman breakaway that made it over the final ascent of the Cauberg before arriving to the finish line. Last year's winner Emma Johansson (Orica-AIS) was second and Rabo-Liv's Katarzyna Niewiadoma was third on the day.  

"After all the work the team did today I just had to win, I would have felt guilty if I had ended second here. It was my first race after a little break in the season, but I felt the legs were pretty good during the race. So I was confident I could win the sprint. Nice for the team sponsors that I won here in their region in the Boels Rental Hills Classic," Armitstead said in a team press release on Facebook.

The Boels Rental Hills Classic offered a 131km course that ventured through the Dutch hills in and around Limburg. The women were tested over 1,500 metres of elevations gain with 15 bergs and two trips up the Cauberg climb before finishing up the Geulhemmerweg.

A seven-rider breakaway formed early in the race to include Katrin Garfoot (Orica-GreenEdge), Danielle King (Wiggle-Honda), Chantal Blaak (Boels-Dolmans), Susanna Zorzi (Lotto-Soudal Ladies), Janneke Ensing (Parkhotel), Sabrina Stultiens (Liv-Plantur) and Thalita de Jong (Rabobank-Liv), which gained three minutes.

A larger chase group of roughly 25 riders formed behind the seven leaders and by the time they hit first ascent of the Cauberg, the groups had merged with 25km to go.

That group dwindled to just five over the second and final trip up the Cauberg to include Armitstead, Johannson and Niewiadoma along with Elisa Longo Borghini (Wiggle-Honda) and Stultiens, who won the mountain competition. Niewiadoma made several attacks at the base of the last climb to Geulhemmerweg, however, Armitstead was able to respond to all of them and add to that with a winning sprint to the finish line.

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