Armitstead wint haar Ronde van Vlaanderen

"Het was een vreemde wedstrijd waarbij we met twee de finale kleuren" zei Armitstead. "We moesten alles geven en daardoor kon ik me niet sparen voor de sprint. Emma is snel en ik mocht haar niet onderschatten."

"Het was pokeren op het laatst" voegde ze toe. "Mijn communicatie werkte niet, dus ik wist niet exact wat er achter me gebeurde."

Armitstead is bezig aan een prachtige reeks in haar regenboogtrui, haar vroege zeges in de Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, Strade Bianche en Trofeo Binda waren een opmaat voor het prachtige nummer dat zondag werd opgevoerd. Telkens als haar werd gevraagd naar haar doelen voor 2016, gaf ze hetzelfde antwoord. Haar seizoen was opgebouwd rond twee grote doelen: de Ronde van Vlaanderen en de Olympische Spelen van Rio. Met haar winst in Vlaanderen, liet Armitstead zien ze haar doelen kan verwezenlijken ook als het de belangrijkste wedstrijden van de kalender betreft.

"Het is heel speciaal om te winnen en zeker als je dat in de regenboogtrui doet" zei Armitstead. "Het werd een perfecte dag."

Niet alleen had Boels-Dolmans aan het einde van de dag twee rensters op het podium, nog eens twee extra rensters eindigden in de top zes met een vierde plaats van Megan Guarnier pal achter Blaak en met een zesde plaats van Ellen van Dijk, de winnares van 2014.
 

 Lizzie Armitstead ha vinto il Giro delle Fiandre

Elizabeth Armitstead ha conquistato il gradino più alto del podio al Giro delle FIandre dopo acer disputato un finale al cardiopalmo nella prova femminile della classica del nord.
La campionessa del mondo ha messo la sua ruota anteriore di pochi centrimentri a quella di Emma Johansson, in una volata al fotofinish. Quattro secondi dopo la compagna di squadra Chantal Blaak ha vinto la volata del gruppo.

"E 'stata una corsa strana che ha riservato un finale a due", ha dichiarato Armitstead. "Abbiamo dovuto dare tutto per andare in fuga e quindi non ho potuto risparmiare le energie per lo sprint. Emma è veloce e io non la potevo sottovalutare."

"Ed in più nel finale", ha aggiunto. "La mia comunicazione via radio non funzionava, quindi non sapevo cosa stava succedendo dietro di me."

Armitstead è prosegue nella serie meravigliosa di successi indossando la sua maglia iridata, aggiungendo alle sue prime vittorie nella Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, Strade Bianche e Trofeo Binda che erano un preludio allo show che oggi è stato messo in scena. Ogni volta che le è stato chiesto quali fossero i suoi obiettivi per il 2016, Lizzie dato la stessa risposta. La sua stagione è stata costruita attorno a due obiettivi principali: il Giro delle Fiandre e le Olimpiadi di Rio. Con la sua vittoria nelle Fiandre, la Armitstead  sta dimostrando di poter raggiungere i suoi obiettivi, anche se  questi riguardano le gare più importanti del calendario.

"E' veramente speciale vincere, soprattutto se lo si fa indossando la maglia iridata", ha proseguito la Armitstead. "E 'stata una giornata perfetta."

Non solo Boels-Dolmans ha avuto alla fine della giornata due piloti sul podio, completato altri due piloti supplementari nelle prime sei posizioni con un quarto posto da Megan Guarnier proprio dietro Blaak e la sesta di Ellen van Dijk, il vincitore il 2014.

Ordine d'arrivo Ronde Van Vlandeeren - Giro delle Fiandre 2016
1    Elizabeth Armitstead (GBr) Boels Dolmans Cycling Team    3:43:27     
2    Emma Johansson (Swe) Wiggle High5          
3    Chantal Blaak (Ned) Boels Dolmans Cycling Team    0:00:02     
4    Megan Guarnier (USA) Boels Dolmans Cycling Team          
5    Elisa Longo Borghini (Ita) Wiggle High5          
6    Eleonora Van Dijk (Ned) Boels Dolmans Cycling Team          
7    Annemiek Van Vleuten (Ned) Orica-AIS          
8    Pauline Ferrand Prevot (Fra) Rabo Liv Women Cycling Team          
9    Claudia Lichtenberg (Ger) Lotto Soudal Ladies          
10    Katarzyna Niewiadoma (Pol) Rabo Liv Women Cycling Team    0:00:08     
11    Gracie Elvin (Aus) Orica-AIS    0:00:59     
12    Jessie Daams (Bel) Lotto Soudal Ladies          
13    Rossella Ratto (Ita) Cylance Pro Cycling          
14    Olga Zabelinskaya (Rus) Bepink          
15    Amanda Spratt (Aus) Orica-AIS    0:02:00     
16    Coryn Rivera (USA) UnitedHealthcare Women    0:02:03     
17    Lisa Brennauer (Ger) Canyon-SRAM          
18    Joelle Numainville (Can) Cervelo Bigla Pro Cycling Team          
19    Elena Cecchini (Ita) Canyon-SRAM          
20    Maria Giulia Confalonieri (Ita) Lensworld-Zannata          
21    Amy Pieters (Ned) Wiggle High5
 

Emma Johansson Half A Wheel Away From Ronde Van Vlaanderen Victory

Wiggle High5 Pro Cycling’s Emma Johansson came within half a wheel of taking an incredible victory in the Ronde van Vlaanderen - the Tour of Flanders - today. The Swedish champion was just pipped to the line by World Champion Lizzie Armitstead after the two of them had escaped a very select front group in the final cobbled climbs of the 141km Classic. Last year’s winner, Wiggle Honda Pro Cycling’s Elisa Longo Borghini, took an excellent fifth place as Armitstead’s teammate Chantal Blaak won the sprint for third place, just two seconds behind the duo. “It’s hard to come into the final with Lizzie,” Johansson said afterwards. “It’s a lot of pressure on your shoulders because you know the girls have been supporting you. You just want to do your very best, and bring Wiggle High5 the victory, but I know that they know that I’m in a difficult situation. “I know she’s a little bit faster than me, so I had to start the sprint, and I did that - I felt like I was still very powerful at the end - but she came past me at the very last moment. But that’s how it is sometimes…” Johansson and Armitstead escaped between the climbs of the Oude Kwaremont and Paterberg, with less than 15km to race, as the World Champion countered a move that included Longo Borghini. The pair was 18 seconds clear at the top of the Paterberg and, with both having teammates in the group behind, they looked uncatchable. Nevertheless, the gap had reduced to ten seconds on the flat run to the final kilometre, and was just two as Armitstead just managed to force her wheel over the line ahead of Johansson’s. “When you’ve done everything you can, and you know you’ve done everything right - and when someone is that much better than you - of course you’re disappointed, but I think we did a really nice race,” Johansson explained. “The whole team was really good; we did what we were supposed to do, we took it in our own hands, and I just loved the racing today. I enjoyed it from the first moment, riding through Zingem [her hometown in Flanders]… “It was so emotional to be here, and do this race. On every section you can hear your name, and I could hear Jolien’s name. Everyone is there to support us. It’s just a pity we couldn’t be there on the top step today. We would have deserved it; we really did everything we could to be there. “It was close, but I’m sure it will come soon.” For Longo Borghini, the pressure of starting with race number one as last year’s winner was absent, as the team was able to stick close together and work well on the narrow roads. Able to sit in the chasing group in the closing kilometres, the Italian was able to save herself for the finish, but was just unable to beat the Boels-Dolmans duo of Blaak and Megan Guarnier, who had also been able to sit in. “I said before the race that they had to win the race, because I already won it,” Longo Borghini said. “I know the feeling to win Flanders. I’m pretty happy that Emma was second, she was really close to the first place. And I think the team rode really well because we were always there, and we worked really well as a team. Motivation was there; professionalism was there; we were ready and relaxed, which is really important. “I was waiting for somebody to follow so I could easily counter, but nobody could,” she said of the winning move in the final kilometres. “I think everybody was a bloc. I felt really, really strong, and I could see that Emma had good legs so I was confident.” Result 1. Lizzie Armitstead (Boels-Dolmans) 2. Emma Johansson (Wiggle High5 Pro Cycling) 3. Chantal Blaak (Boels-Dolmans) .. 5. Elisa Longo Borghini (Wiggle High5 Pro Cycling)