Description
June 8, 2023
ZLM Tour 2023 – Stage 1 – Westkapelle – ‘s-Heerenhoek : 202,5 km
The ZLM Tour is a five-day stage race held annually in the southern Netherlands and Belgium.
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June 8, 2023
ZLM Tour 2023 – Stage 1 – Westkapelle – ‘s-Heerenhoek : 202,5 km
The ZLM Tour is a five-day stage race held annually in the southern Netherlands and Belgium. Since 2020, the race has been part of the UCI’s second-tier, the ProSeries. The race debuted back in 1987 but up until 1996 it was run as an amateur event. Just from the list of former winners you can guess the kind of terrain that the race encompasses. There are some hills for the riders to negotiate over the four to five days of racing, but the general classification is often decided by gaps in the opening individual time trial/prologue and bonus seconds obtained in the bunch sprints on the flatter stages. Winds blowing in from the North Sea also play a major role in determining the overall winner.
Yentl Vandevelde handed the new Tour de Tietema-Unibet squad their first major victory with a brilliant effort from the day’s breakaway.
The peloton containing race leader Nils Eekhoff (Team DSM) had the remnants of the breakaway in their sights in the final kilometre but timed it all wrong and could not catch the 22-year-old Vandevelde.
“It’s unbelievable – I never expected this,” Vandevelde said after a lengthy and emotional celebration with his teammates. “It’s nice to come here and catch a big fish. I don’t have any more tears!
“When I heard we had one minute with 10km to go, I knew we had a chance,” he said. “I’ve never won any races in my career and now I win a pro race on a high level, it’s unbelievable. I didn’t expect it – I had really good legs but normally it always is a bunch sprint. I’ve tried so many times to jump in the breakaway and stay to the finish line – and I thought it would be the same story.”
Alexander Konychev (Corratec-Selle Italia) and Bert-Jan Lindeman (VolkerWessels) also held off the chasing bunch to finish second and third on the stage, respectively.
The riders were part of a day-long escape on the 202.5 kilometre stage from Westkapelle to ‘s-Heerenhoek, having clipped off the front in the first 20 kilometres.
Together with Emiel Vermeulen (BEAT), Aaron Van Poucke (Flanders Baloise), Thijs de Lange (Metec-Solarwatt p/b Mantel) and Martijn Rasenberg (ABLOC), it was David vs. Goliath as the seven riders built a maximum lead of nearly four minutes before the WorldTeams got to work trying to reel them in.
In the end, five of the seven stayed away with Lange and Van Poucke unlucky in their efforts. Sam Welsford (Team DSM) led the peloton to the line close enough to the stage winner to keep teammate Nils Eekhoff in the race lead.
Results :
 had the remnants of the breakaway in their sights in the final kilometre but timed it all wrong and could not catch the 22-year-old Vandevelde.
"It's unbelievable - I never expected this," Vandevelde said after a lengthy and emotional celebration with his teammates. "It's nice to come here and catch a big fish. I don't have any more tears!
"When I heard we had one minute with 10km to go, I knew we had a chance," he said. "I've never won any races in my career and now I win a pro race on a high level, it's unbelievable. I didn't expect it - I had really good legs but normally it always is a bunch sprint. I've tried so many times to jump in the breakaway and stay to the finish line - and I thought it would be the same story."
Alexander Konychev (Corratec-Selle Italia) and Bert-Jan Lindeman (VolkerWessels) also held off the chasing bunch to finish second and third on the stage, respectively.
The riders were part of a day-long escape on the 202.5 kilometre stage from Westkapelle to 's-Heerenhoek, having clipped off the front in the first 20 kilometres.
Together with Emiel Vermeulen (BEAT), Aaron Van Poucke (Flanders Baloise), Thijs de Lange (Metec-Solarwatt p/b Mantel) and Martijn Rasenberg (ABLOC), it was David vs. Goliath as the seven riders built a maximum lead of nearly four minutes before the WorldTeams got to work trying to reel them in.
In the end, five of the seven stayed away with Lange and Van Poucke unlucky in their efforts. Sam Welsford (Team DSM) led the peloton to the line close enough to the stage winner to keep teammate Nils Eekhoff in the race lead.
<strong>Results : </strong>
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