Van Vleuten beats Antoshina in two-up sprint

Annemiek van Vleuten (Nederland Bloeit) measured her effort to perfection to win the women’s Tour of Flanders in Meerbeke on Sunday. In the finishing straight, she allowed Tatiana Antoshina (Gauss) to lead out the sprint, before clinically jumping around the Russian champion to take the win.

“I sat on and did not take over,” van Vleuten said afterwards. “At about 250 metres from the line, I jumped off her wheel.”

Van Vleuten’s teammate Marianne Vos won the sprint for third place among the select group of chasers that came home 10 seconds behind. Indeed, the Nederland Bloeit team was the dominant force in the race’s finale. Sarah Düster launched a solo bid for glory that forced the other teams to chase and allowed Vos and van Vleuten to sit on and conserve their energy.

The German was joined for a time by Ludovine Henrion (Lotto Honda), but when the lead group of chasers nullified the move with 2km to go, Antoshina seized the opportunity to make her move, and powered clear of the break. However, the ever-alert van Vleuten was quick to spot the danger and she jumped across to the Russian’s wheel.

With the trump card of Vos waiting in the wings to unleash her rapid finish, van Vleuten knew that she could afford to let Antoshina do the lion’s share of work on the approach the finish, and the Russian duly obliged, with her pace-making opening up a 10-second gap.

Then on the slightly rise to the finishing line, van Vleuten simply had too much for Antoshina, and sprinted to victory. The Dutchwoman, who finished third in last weekend’s Trofeo Binda, now inherits the overall lead in the World Cup from Emma Pooley (Garmin-Cervélo), but she was delighted to focus on her Flanders triumph – for now.

“After the World Cup, this is the most beautiful rostrum on which you can stand,” van Vleuten said.

On a course not suited to her talents Pooley admitted that she was always going to be hard pressed to repeat her heroics from the Trofeo Binda. “This course didn’t suit me as well as last week’s one did, I really have to try hard on the cobbles not to get dropped,” she told Cyclingnews on crossing the line in 10th place as part of the chasing group.

Nonetheless, Pooley attacked over the top of the Eikenberg but found herself shut down by a number of teams with an eye on the World Cup standings.

“Anyone wearing our team kit is marked because everyone on our team is very strong,” Pooley said. “The girls who are going for the overall in the World Cup aren’t going to let anyone dangerous go, so that makes it a bit tougher.”

Pooley had her teammate Noemi Cantele for company in the 12 rider break that formed over the hellingen, but on the fast and flat approach to Meerbeke, it was increasingly difficult to make an impact.

“We were just trying to get away, but it was hard because it was already really quick,” Pooley said.

Instead, it was Nederland Bloeit’s strength in depth that won out. After Loes Gunnewijk had worked hard over the climbs, Sarah Düster made her solo effort in order to allow Vos and van Vleuten to save themselves for the finale

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