Nooijen wins final time trial and takes overall win Princess Anna Vasa Tour
Lieke Nooijen has won the final time trial of the Princess Anna Vasa Tour. In the final time trial, the Dutch rider was ten seconds faster than teammate Riejanne Markus. With the victory, Nooijen takes the final classification of the Polish stage race. Markus and Carlijn Achtereekte finished second and third overall.
On the thirteen-kilometer course, the main focus was on Nooijen and Markus, the two favorites for the day and overall victory. Markus, who started first, recorded a strong time of 17:51, taking over first place from teammate Achtereekte. Nooijen then gave everything on the rainy course and managed to take the day and overall victory with a time of 17:41.
“Despite the bad conditions, I knew it was a course that would suit me well,” Nooijen says. “Yesterday I won the stage, which allowed me to start today in the leader's jersey; this gave me extra motivation to go for it today. With the long sections in the course, I could set much pace; luckily, that went very well today.”
"It's super nice to be on the podium together with Riejanne and Carlijn"
With two victories and the win in the time trial, the 23-year-old Dutch rider looks back on the past few days with satisfaction. “The win in the team time trial was, of course, already very nice. The second day did not go as planned, but in the third stage, we recovered well as a team, and I was happy to win. To now also win the final time trial and to finish on the podium with Riejanne and Carlijn is the perfect ending to this week.”
Nooijen, who is riding her first year of service for Team Visma | Lease a Bike, looks back on the past few months with satisfaction. “Together with Maarten van Kooij, my trainer, I have already made big steps. We have set goals, and things are getting better and better; fortunately, this is also reflected in the results. In addition, I always work with a nice group of riders and staff with whom I have a good relationship and who always help me.”