11th Heuvelland Tweedaagse - SC

Netherlands, August 25-26, 2001

Stage 2 - August 25: Klimmen to Klimmen, 84 km

Reinier Honig gains second road stage

By Bert Saarloos, Dagblad de Limburger

Although Jukka Vastaranta has been contracted by, and for the time being is living with sport director Frans Maassen from Rabobank, the Dutch team tried to break its future star's power on the second day of the Heuvelland Tweedaagse (Super Calendar juniors). Without success. The Finn, who dominated the field yesterday, defended his yellow jersey with brilliance in stage 2 and expanded his lead in the final individual time trial.

The riders faced four laps of 19.9 hilly kilometres in the morning. Despite the early hour (start at 9.32) it was already heating up in deep south of the Netherlands and the temperature would rise even higher than yesterday, to a suffocating 35 degrees in the shade. And it had been a battlefield already on Saturday.

Huge time differences were made and it was that the jury had great sympathy with the suffering riders that it allowed twenty riders - taken out of competition because of the huge time gap (16 minutes) - to start again. It wasn't as if the jury did them a favour as many of them abandoned in the first two laps.

The Rabo-team had a plan to tackle Vastaranta. First Maassen sent Norbert Poels (14th at 7.12) to attack. He joined Jurgen Van Den Broeck (Kortrijk Groeninge Spurters). In the second lap Aloys van Duuren (District Noord), Christoph Meschenmoser (Ger, Württemberg Selection) and Onno Gerritsen (District Zuid West) followed, and in the next lap Maikel Paas (TC Maaslandster), Dumitru Crecium (Moldavia), Christophe Janssens (Bel, Sweet Paradise), Frank Mutschler (Ger, Württemberg), Erwin den Hollander (Zuid West), Olivier Maertens (Bel, KSV Deerlijk), Romet Puuram (Estonia) and the rider Maassen was setting his hopes on, Johnny Hoogerland, placed fourth at 2.32.

The thirteen gained 45", and a dangerous situation seemed to develop for Vastaranta. But the Finn kept his head cool as ice in tropical Klimmen. On the 1.4 km, steep Walemerberg Vastaranta went to front of the peloton and on the top of the climb he reached the chasing group. Impressive! In the last lap Dutch champion Reinier Honig and Martijn Maaskant escaped and gained 40". Although Honig was placed fifth at only 2.32 Vastaranta didn't bother. He relied on his time trial capabilities and with good reason.

Results

1 Reinier Honig (Ned) District Zuid West                2.23.24
2 Martijn Maaskant (Ned) Rabobank Wielerploeg              0.03
3 Christoph Janssens (Bel) Sweet Paradise Cycling Team     0.16
4 Evghenii Gutalov (Mda) Moldavian National Team           0.19
5 Jukka Vastaranta (Fin) TWC Maaslandster                  0.35
6 Tom Veelers (Ned) District Oost
7 Johnny Hoogerland (Ned) Rabobank Wielerploeg             0.37
8 Risto Usin (Est) Estonian National Team                  0.38
9 Christoph Meschenmoser (Ger) Wurttemberg Sel.
10 Onno Gerritsen (Ned) District Zuid West                 0.40
11 Bert Van der Hasselt (Bel) Sweet Paradise Cycling Team
12 Kor Steenbergen (Ned) Rabobank Wielerploeg
13 Michael Poucke v (Bel) Kortrijk Groenige Spurters
14 Marcel Beima (Ned) District Noord Bional
15 Bart Oegema (Ned) District Noord Holland                0.44
16 Dumitru Creciun (Mda) Moldavian National Team           0.45
17 Jens Petroll (Ger) German National Team
18 Norbert Poels (Ned) Rabobank Wielerploeg
19 Erwin Den Hollander (Ned) District Zuid West            0.48
20 Jurgen Broeck Van Den (Bel) Kortrijk Groenige Spurte    0.53
21 Jan Vanhoutte (Bel) KSV Deerlijk                        1.06
22 Steven Scevenels (Bel) Kortrijk Groenige Spurters       1.15
23 Jules Bremers (Ned) TWC Maaslandster                    1.45
24 Dirk Hoorelbeke (Bel) KSV Deerlijk                      1.47
25 Johan Sermon (Bel) Think Media Cycling Team             1.48
26 Gill Suray (Bel) Kortrijk Groenige Spurters             1.51
27 Bart Dirks (Ned) District Zuid-Oost
28 Niek Asbroek (Ned) District Oost
29 Anton Wouters (Bel) Sweet Paradise Cycling Team
30 Olivier Maertens (Bel) KSV Deerlijk
31 Thorsten Struch (Ger) Wurttemberg Sel.                  1.55
32 Ruslan Sambrisi (Mda) Moldavian National Team           1.56
33 Ries Sanden v/d (Ned) District Zuid-Oost
34 Aloys Duuren v. (Ned) District Noord Bional             2.03
35 Romet Puuram (Est) Estonian National Team               2.54
36 Jochem Beernaert (Bel) KSV Deerlijk                     6.49
37 Frank Mutschler (Ger) Wurttemberg Sel.                  7.04
38 Jochen Uhrig (Ger) German National Team                 7.04
39 Julian Siemens (Ned) District Noord Bional              8.41
40 Gregor Kodric (Slo) Slovenian National Team
41 Gasper Pilar (Slo) Slovenian National Team
42 Camiel Denis (Ned) District Zuid-Oost
43 Dieter Cappelle (Bel) Kortrijk Groenige Spurters       10.51
44 Wim Van Moer (Bel) Think Media Cycling Team
45 Erwin Goenga (Ned) District Noord Holland
46 Steven Peters (Ned) Rabobank Wielerploeg
47 Rick Flens (Ned) District Noord Holland
48 Sven Krauss (Ger) Wurttemberg Sel.                     11.08
49 Jef Van Dijck (Bel) Sweet Paradise Cycling Team        13.30
50 Nicolas Baßdorf (Ger) German National Team             14.14