Van Baarle and Jumbo-Visma outwit opposition for Netherlands Road gold

Dylan van Baarle and Jumbo-Visma saw off mighty rival Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck) to capture Netherlands Road Championships gold on Sunday, with Van Baarle’s sprinter teammate Olav Kooij completing the home side’s perfect day by taking silver.

After launching his lone attack, Van Baarle was able to solo home for victory while Kooij kept Van der Poel - finally forced to settle for bronze -  under control behind.

“I told Olav to follow Mathieu,” Van Baarle said afterwards. “That way I could ride off at my own pace. If you have to race against a rider like Mathieu, you sometimes have to play it smart.”

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How it unfolded

Jumbo-Visma made much of the running in the entire 220 kilometre hilly course in southern Holland, firing Kooij and teammate Robert Gesink up the road in the early phase of the race in a five-man break.

Alpecin-Deceuninck led the chase, but the front group was so hard to catch that the peloton shattered under the pressure of trying to bring them home, leaving it to riders behind to do their best to catch the head of the race.

Van der Poel tried to chase the quintet down in person, only to find one Jumbo-Visma rider after another entangling his pursuit, including eventual winner Van Baarle. Finally, though, Van der Poel managed to get across, dragging half a dozen riders with him to form a group of 10 riders ahead as the final lap began.

Continental pro Frank van den Broek (ABLOC) put in a valiant effort to fly under the radar than allowed him to get to within 10 kilometres of the finish at the head of affairs. However, it was at this point that Van Baarle opted to deliver a knock-out blow, steaming past van der Broek. Fatally, Van der Poel initially failed to follow, and when he subsequently attempted to do so, it was to find Olav Kooij shadowing his every move.

As Kooij refused to take a turn with Van Baarle ahead, Van der Poel found himself unable to get back on terms. To further rub salt in the wound, he then ended third place behind the young Dutch sprinter despite arguably being the strongest rider in the field.

“This is extra special after a failed spring,” Van Baarle said. “Things went very well in the Critérium du Dauphiné and the training camp in Tignes also went perfectly. That I can now go to the Tour as Dutch champion… words fail me. It is a dream."

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