British Stages Wins in Holland

 

Report and photos from Bryan Taylor

 

There were 3 stage wins for British riders at the 2006 Tour de Junior Achterveld (Holland) along with a number of podium finishes.

A stage win for Dani King.

 

Things started slowly for the British with no successes on the first two stages and a 2nd place for Alex Aldham-Breary on the 3rd stage criterium the only success by the end of day two. Day three however saw the longest stage of the race, the 'Classica' and 37 degree temperatures were making it tough for riders and helpers alike. The first success came in the Under 16 girls event where there was a win for Dani King and Alex Aldam-Breary made it onto the podium again in the boys race with another 2nd place.

Day four started with a hill climb (well more of a slight drag in my opinion), and Dani King showed her win the previous day was no fluke as she stormed to another win, putting her into second place overall.

Not to be outdone, Alex Aldam-Breary also won the boys hill climb, pushing him further up the overall classification. The evening criterium saw no further podium success for the girls, although the British riders were starting to stick together as Dani's wins weren't going down to well with the Dutch girls. Alex Greenfield sacrificed her chances on the last lap to keep Dani at the front and out of trouble in the sprint for the line. Alex Aldam-Breary was again on the podium in the U16 boys event with his third 2nd place of the race.

A time trial opened the proceedings on day five, and in the girls event, Greta Junker took her first win of the tour, 1 second ahead of overall leader Amy Pieters of Holland, with Dani in 3rd, 12 seconds back. This left Dani still holding 2nd place and pushed Greta up to 3rd overall, with Annie Simpson and Alex Greenfield also in the top 10. Alex Aldam-Breary finished 3rd in his event which pushed him up to 3rd overall.

The evening saw the penultimate stage of the Tour, and sadly a time bonus for Nicole Pieters was enough to push Greta down to 4th by 1 second. Alex Greenfield finished 4th & Dani King 5th, on the stage. In the Under 16 boys race, Chris Whorrall took 3rd, with Alex coming 6th to hold onto 3rd overall.

The ninth and final stage was held on a tough circuit, only 830 metres long and totally flat. Sophie Terry was having a stormer and looked a likely favourite, but got caught up behind a crash with a few laps remaining. Annie Simpson finished best GB rider in 5th, with Dani & Alex G just behind her. This left Dani in a fine 2nd position overall in her event. In the boys event, Alex kept out of trouble and watched his closest challengers to finish 5th on the stage and retain 3rd overall, with Chris Whorrall having another podium finish in 3rd place for the stage.

 

 

 

Dani King making her rivals see spots ...

 

 

Chris Whorrell (right) is 3rd on a stage.

 

Greta Junker

 

Corrine Hall

 

Annie Last

 

Annie Simpson

 

Sarah Reynolds

 

 

RESULTS

Under 16 Girls Final Standings
1 Amy Pieters 04u17'26
2 Dani King (Gbr) 04u17'49
3 Nicole Pieters 04u17'57
4 Anna van der Breggen 04u18'00
5 Annie Simpson (Gbr) 04u18'06
6 Alexandra Greenfield (Gbr) 04u18'18
11 Sarah Reynolds (Gbr) 04u18'49
12 Sophie Terry (Gbr) 04u18'52
14 Greta Junker (Gbr) 04u19'23
18 Annie Last (Gbr) 04u26'53
21 Corrinne Hall (Gbr) 04u37'45

U16 Boys Final Standings
1 Barry Markus 05u18'54
2 Nick Stopler 05u19'12
3 Alex Aldham-Breary (Gbr) 05u19'34
14 Jack Kirk (Gbr) 05u20'22
28 Mike Webb (Gbr) 05u20'42
38 Keir Stone-Brown (Gbr) 05u20'53
45 Christopher Whorrall (Gbr) 05u22'50
54 Tim Rowson (Gbr) 05u31'52
56 William Penn (Gbr) 05u35'22

U15 Final Standings
1 Oscar Riesebeek 04u16'42
2 Bart Harmsen 04u17'24
3 Binne Pier de Haan 04u17'26
11 Jack Waller (Gbr) 04u18'02
12 Perry Bowater (Gbr) 04u18'03

U14 Final Standings
1 Kelly Markus 03u23'46
2 Danny van Poppel (Bel) 03u23'57
3 Dennis Looij 03u24'15
20 Penny Rowson (Gbr) 03u25'46