Last Sunday saw the second edition of the NL Crit Series – “de Ronde van Made”. It is one of the oldest road crits of the Netherlands, so it’s unique that the NL Crit Series managed to get a fixed crit going here and connect old with new! This short and technical course which is comprised of mostly bricks is not for the faint-hearted.
Text & Photography: Merlijn Spenkelink
Over 40 people line up for the women’s and men’s B race. In the first lap, it was Eva Seibold who crashed in a tight corner. Even though she was tended to immediately, the race had to be stopped so she could safely exit the course. Unfortunately, she did not get away unscathed, she sustained a broken hand from the incident, also making her miss Red Hook Crit Brooklyn no.11.We hope she will heal up soon and can continue to race.
After the restart, there were 7 laps left and the pace stayed high throughout. Lisa Wörner was the only woman who could keep up with the men’s front group and won the ladies race in front of Jo Smith and Ashley Faye.
In the men’s B it was Thomas Fontijn who grabbed the win right in front of Matthieu Castro Placeres and Jos van der Linde.
After the pros (including Niki Terpstra and many others) did their race it was time for the men’s A. It was the first nighttime race for the NL crit series, and the vibe was amazing! Loads of spectators, beer and a nice summer night made it an amazing race.
Right from the start, the pace was extremely high with hardly any chances to attack. There were people dropping from the back throughout the race which made the peloton shrink to just 13 riders. Luc Ducrot managed to open up a gap together with Eike Hauman with just 5 laps to go, but they couldn’t hold it until the end. It was David van Eerd, who lives in the area, who took the win in front of Edwin van Kerkhof. Jan-Willem Groeneveld got third and grabbed the second podium spot for team WIT.
