Last and first Jeugdtour

Today was the last day for everyone, but for Maike van der Duin it was her last Jeugdtour Assen ever. The rider of SwaboLadies was present in Assen from the youngest categories and finished today, in her 13th Jeugdtour, with a win in the criterium and the final classification.

“I already won the Jeugdtour a few times with the aspirants and in the youth categories, but this is surely the best win. It is the last time that I took part and we really did this as a team. It was very special for me that I won the last stage of my last Jeugdtour in the yellow jersey. That teammate Noa de Haan also takes the green jersey makes it extra special. Today was the last chance and I approached it very relaxed. I especially wanted to enjoy and have fun this week but when you are at the start you want to race for the win. It was my last Jeugdtour as a rider but I think I will miss it so much that I might return as a volunteer next year, just like my brother Marc.”

In category 3, a Jeugdtour novice brought home the yellow jersey. Australian Michael Rossiter took the yellow jersey on the penultimate day and managed to defend it successfully.

“I really did not expect that I could win the overall classification. In Australia we ride very different races with much smaller pelotons. I hoped to be among the first ten in the overall. In the end, positioning turned out to be difficult, but I was strong enough to ride good results and grab bonus seconds for the classification. I had prepared well for the Jeugdtour by training on all courses with Phaedra. That really helped!”

A true coup took place in the nieuwelingen 2003 today. Where it seemed to be a battle between Gustav Wang and Bjarne Hemme, Job Boontjes managed to conquer the yellow jersey on the last day by staying ahead of the bunch with a breakaway of three.

“Last night I made a plan with a group of friends to get me in the yellow jersey. They are all riders from different clubs. It was actually meant as a joke, but then of course you will try it in earnest. When I was gone and saw that Gustav and Bjarne were looking at each other to close the gap, I knew that I had to ride full gas. It is great that the plan finally succeeded and I have the yellow jersey on my shoulders, “says the rider of the home club WV Meteoor Assen-Roden.