Marijke Groenewoud became world champion in the collective start with a perfectly executed tactic. Groewoud drove many laps alone, more than halfway behind the competition. Ivanie Blondin ran for silver, Irene Schouten took bronze.
Schouten left early and Groewoud surprised everyone, then the gap got so big that it was impossible to get the 2021 world champion again. This is Groenewoud’s second world title in the collective sprint.
long alone
Remarkably, Schouten continued far behind the peloton in the first neutral lap. Initially, he immediately launched an attack. Schouten shouldn’t have let you drive, the others knew. But when Canadian Valerie Maltais brought him back, it was time for the next attack: it was Groenewoud’s turn. And nobody could do anything about it.
Groewoud soon had more than a hundred yards of clearance and continued to make laps in under 30 seconds. The peloton was asleep as it drove away and was woken by a jolt only when Groenewoud continued unhindered for another half turn.
In rounds around 30.0, Groenewoud calmly slipped into the world title after a perfectly executed battle plan.
beard versus beard
Belgian Bart defeated Dutch Bart in the men’s en masse. After a lap and a half, Olympic champion Bart Swings took the lead in the peloton, ramping up the pace and not letting anyone pass. This is the first ever world title for Belgium in World Cup distances.
Swings had a small hole in Hoolwerf that they couldn’t get back. Looks like Hoolwerf has gotten a little out of control in the last few laps. The swinging just went too fast. The Belgian is having a great weekend. He took the bronze medal five kilometers ahead of Jorrit Bergsma on Thursday.
Bergsma’s task in the final was to complicate the game and keep everyone together like a shepherd. This went smoothly. Halfway through the race, Bergma made another attack to wreak havoc. Letting Bergsma race was not an option, so the other contestants had to take action.
Meanwhile, Hoolwerf gathered his strength in the heart of the peloton and waited for the sprint. But it turned out that there is no competitor to the swings. Hoolwerf nodded and made his “honour lap”.
The collaboration between Bergsma and Hoolwerf went well in the final. The first question was how the duo would perform. In the last World Cup race, Hoolwerf hinted that he would prefer to race with Louis Hollaar. It was a small fire that was put out before the World Cup started, but it wasn’t a perfect start.
Things didn’t go well in the men’s semi-finals, either. Bergsma scored some points early in the race, which meant he qualified for the finals almost instantly. But after the race, a judge quickly grabbed his neck. Whether Bergsma wants to pay attention to the zipper next time she always opens her neck right after crossing the finish line.
The jury was merciful, it remained a warning. But national coach Rintje Ritsma must have gotten a little nervous after the bare ankle gate in the women’s team sprint on Friday. The Dutch woman set the fastest time, but Joy Beune was disqualified because her ankles were not adequately protected.
The jury bowed to Hoolwerf
Things almost went wrong at Hoolwerf in the second men’s semi-final. He played with Austrian Gabriel Odor while collecting points. The Hoolwerf deviated slightly from its line three times, to the annoyance of the passengers.
Five judges reviewed the footage long after the finish, but Hoolwerf hadn’t broken any rules. They were allowed to make it to the finals together, but were unable to compete against the swings.
After the team sprint on Thursday, the team chase on Friday and the collective start on Saturday, the team competitions come to an end. Sunday is the last day of the World Championship distances in Heerenveen, with 1,500 meters for men and women, 5,000 meters for women and 10,000 meters for men.
Source: NOS
I’m George Gonzalez, a professional journalist and author at The Nation View. With more than 5 years of experience in the field, I specialize in covering sports news for various print media outlets. My passion for writing has enabled me to craft stories that capture the attention of readers all over the world.
