Drielandenomloop, Cat 1.5

Race distance - 200 kms:

 1. Raymond Meijs (Ned) Foreldorado-Golff    4.57.50
 2. De Meester (Bel) 				0.29
 3. Verheyen (Bel)
 4. De Smet (Bel)
 5. Farenhout (Ned)
 6. Hashikawa (Jap) 				0.52
 7. De Rouw (Ned) 				1.00
 8. Köhler (Ger)
 9. Lotz (Ned)
10. Buurstede (Ned)

Reports

For more than 100 kms, Roger Smeets and 7 other attackers led the Drielandenomloop. Then the local rider, Raymond Meijs came into the race and took over the lead.

Still the 23 year-old from Elsloo can look back on a great ride. The Drielandenomloop was the 5th road race for the MTB rider from American Eagle. Smeets has been in training for on 3 weeks because he has been injured for the whole year without any racing. "I did not know how I would go. Then two men from Foreldorado attacked and I went with them. We cleared out. Meijs and everyone from Vlaanderen 2002 were slow to react. Unfortunately for me this race came a month to early."

The Valkenburg amateur Marc Lotz also rode a strong race, and was the only rider from the Rabobank team not to be dominated by Foreldorado.

Professional sportspersons are motivated that extra bit when their livelihood is at stake. Raymond Meijs is a good example of this. On the look out for a new contract for next season the Valkenburg professional won Saturday's Drielandenomloop.

Meijs has been one of the team leaders of the Foreldorado-Golff team in 1997 but they are not continuing in 1998. He won the race which finished in Bocholtz with a 30 second gap.

The race was run over a 200 km course in hot conditions. Around 36 of the 162 starters (professionals and amateurs) finished the hilly tour around three three lands point connecting the Nederlands, Germany and Belgium.

"I feel super. This win comes for me at just the right moment. I will remain a professional. I must year remaining get some good results and start afresh next year", said Raymond Meijs (29), who in October will become a father for the first time.

During the race, the temperature was around 30 degrees, but Meijs was calmly in the peloton. He did not panic with a top group with Roger Smeets (Elsloo) attacking and building a gap of around 5 minutes.

Godert de Leeuw helped in his Foreldorado teammate in the final stages of the race. At that moment, De Leeuw was working, with Raymond Meijs waiting until the time was right for his coup. 20 kms from the end he went for it. His rivals must have been surprised by how quickly he went away. The win gets him 15 points on the UCI rankings list.

At the end of the 17th Drielandenomloop, Raymond Meijs's team leader, Peter Verbeek was happy. The team leader greeted his successful pupil with a 'high five'. He received a flask of water over his red head and a spray for extra cooling.

In a short time he had drunk two cans of cold softdrink. The Limburger followed in the streets of Bocholtz this year, the winner of last year's race, also from Limburg, Danny Nelissen. In 1989, Raymond Meijs won the race as an amateur.

This racing season looked good for Meijs. In April he was very strong in the rain-affected open, Hel van het Mergelland. He looked to be getting fit in time for the classics and rode the Gent-Wevelgem a day later. Meijs, however, damaged his elbow in a fall on the Kemmelberg and had to rest for some weeks. He also hurt his achilles tendon.

By Saturday afternoon he had his revenge. "I have had around 14 day races in the last 9 weeks. Today I clearly have seen the results of that. I now hope to win the Eurode-omloop next week".

His two year tenure with Foreldorado ends at the end of this season. That he was not renewed upset Raymond Meijs. "The team has to find a new sponsor because Foreldorado is stopping. We do not know what the future holds. I am trying to arrange a contract next year to stay in the peloton. That will be decided in the coming weeks. At the moment, I have the selection to the World's in Spain on my mind."

Last week, Meijs rode in the Spanish tour Trofeo Castilla y Leon and it gave him good form for the Drielandenomloop. He returned by air on Friday afternoon landing in Brusells.

The Foreldorado team of Peter Verbeek is having a good season in the Netherlands. Besides the win of Meijs, the team has had victories from John van de Akker winning the Tour of Limburg and a stage in the Olympia's Tour.

Peter Verbeek was not in doubt at the presentation for Raymond Meijs. "This result is a compliment to him. He has worked for months on it. This is his reward for perserverence." Inddeed, Verdeed is not uncertain about the cahnces of Meijs in the next season getting a new team. He will be okay."