Ronde van Drenthe is traditionally held in March as part of the Spring Classics. It is a one-day race that suits the powerful and fast finishers but not necessarily the pure sprinters.
Even though Lorena Wiebes has won the last two editions, she has done so using her power and savvy tactics from both a breakaway and a sprint.
Not entirely pan-flat, the route includes technical sections and cobbles sections during the race, but the most decisive aspect of the route is the VAM Berg, the climb built over a former waste dump, which gives the race a decisive point, and that's not to mention the potential for strong echelon-creating crosswinds that the northern Netherland-based races are so well known.
Dutch rider Adrie Visser was the first winner of the event back in 2007; her compatriots have won the race for nine of the previous 14 editions, including Chantal Beltman, Loes Gunnewijk, Marianne Vos three times, Chantal van den Broek-Blaak, Amy Pieters and twice Lorena Wiebes.
The race wasn't held in 2020 due to COVID-19, but of the 15 previous editions, only four have ended in a bunch sprint, meaning that this race is well-suited to the powerful opportunist, breakaway specialists and fast finishers.
Ronde van Drenthe 2023 Route
The 152.7km route between Emmen and Hoogeveen comprises a series of loops over cobbled sectors and four trips up the VAM Berg, which has pitches as steep as 20%, the last with over 40km to the finish line. Riders who have historically done well in this race are powerful one-day specialists on flatter terrain.
