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Well at last the final World Cup race for the year!
The race was 140km long around Rotterdam, and finished with 4 laps of a 5km circuit.
Going into the race, Miriam Melchers was my only threat for the overall World Cup title and she could only take it from me if she won the race and I finished outside of the top 8. They were long odds for sure but I was still very nervous about it. The best scenario for me would be if a breakaway without Miriam Melchers succeeded. Then there was no way she could get the victory and my overall title would be safe.
The day turned out to be a pretty foul one. It rained and it rained and it rained!! The bunch was quite nervous for the first hour of the race and I found it difficult to hold good position. Then all of a sudden, a breakaway caught everyone by surprise. Monica Valen (Norway), Ghita Beltman (Dutch National), Debby Mansveld (Vlaanderen) Sandra Missbach (Farm Frites junior team) and two more riders stole away up the road.
We had missed it completely but we didn't want to chase since it served our purposes well to have a breakaway. Instead we tried to get a rider across to the break. Kristy Scrymgeour tried first and was caught and then Lyne Bessette tried and was also caught.
The breakaway had nearly a minute advantage on the bunch when Judith Arndt attacked. It was a breath-taking attack and within 3 kms she had crossed the gap and joined the breakaway, making a total of 7 riders in front. Judith continued to drive the break towards the finish, still 90km away. There were some attempts made by the English team, and Alison Wright of the Aussie team to bring the break back but nothing succeeded. Instead, the breakaway continued to gain time on the field, getting as far away as 5 minutes at one point.
Meanwhile back in the bunch I was not having a great day. I was feeling pretty tired and the cold and rain wasn't helping!
I was extremely relieved that a break had gone and looked like winning the race as that took the pressure off me. I guess I was thinking too much about finishing the race and celebrating and not enough about racing because as I was moving across the centre line of the road I realised too late that the paint was raised and my front wheel caught the lip and down I went! Kim Bruckner (Saturn) was right behind me at the time and crashed on top of me. What a sorry sight we were!! Lyne Bessette, Kristy Scrymgeour and Cathy Marsal all waited for me to help me chase back on and we rejoined the field pretty quickly.
But I had just about had enough. When we crossed the finish line for the first time, with 20kms left to race, I withdrew from the race. I was then treated to the spectacle of Judith Arndt attacking the breakaway with 15kms to go and putting in an amazing performance to win the race, something like 3 minutes ahead of her breakaway companions.
Behind her, the breakaway fragmented. Debby Mansveld and Monica Valen finished together with Debby taking out the sprint for second place. Rochelle Gilmore (Australia) won the bunch kick for 8th place.
I now have 5 days of rest (YAY!!) before tackling the Grand Prix de Nations time trial in France next Saturday.
Cheers Anna
Rotterdam Tour Results
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