Nicole Cooke Vision 1 Racing : First Stage Of The Thuringen Rundfahrt In German
Vision 1 Racing news hot off the press, yesterday’s first stage of the Thuringen Rundfahrt in Germany.
Stage 1, Altenburg, 70.7km, 21st July 2009
The International Thuringen Rundfahrt, a six stage tour in Germany, started yesterday with four laps of a rolling 19.5km circuit, which included tough cobbled sections. It was probably the toughest start to the Thuringen Rundfahrt in many years, and the victory went to Marianne Voss (DSB Bank) in a sprint to the line ahead of Emma Johanssen (Red Sun Cycling) and Rasa Leleivyte (Safi Pasta Zara Titanedi). The course was challenging and tested the handling skills of the riders and the rolling roads tested their legs and ensured that the pace was fast.
In the final kilometre the peloton was all together and the descent to the line ensured a fast sprint for the top places. An exhausted Vicki said
“It was a lot harder than I expected. That was tough, there were a lot of broken cobbled sections which meant riders were skidding everywhere. There was also a lot of braking and accelerating which made it very hard on the energy systems. It was a really leg sapping stage and I am hoping it isn’t going to get harder from here. If that is an indication of the rest of the week then it is going to be a tough tour !”
See the race action below:
Results
1. Marianne Voss (DSB Bank)
2. Emman Johanssen (Red Sun Cycling)
3. Rasa Leleivyte (Safi Pasta)
4. Ellen Van Dijk (Team Colombia High Road)
5. Sarah Duster (Cervelo Test Team)
13. Nicole Cooke (Vision 1)
18. Aurore Verhoeven (Vision 1)
21. Vicki Whitelaw (Vision 1)
29. Danni King (Vision 1)
46. Katie Curtis (Vision 1)
80. Jackie Garner (Vision 1)