KNSB Cup 9 Groningen

Written by T Dobbin
Wednesday was the first of the five days cup held in Groningen. The ladies race started at 18:30 followed by the men at 19:30. It is the first race of a long five days with races held all over the Netherlands.

The ladies race started off to a hard start with Maria Sterk from DSB Bank crashing early on in the race. She skated most of the race off the back trying to catch back up to the peleton while everyone was off the front trying to make it a hard race. The ladies ended in a sprint finish with the American Chris Witty just crossing the line in first place with the race victory. See below for the ladies results.

Ladies Marathon Results
1st Chris Witty (Landjuweel)
2nd Elma de Vries (DSB Bank)
3rd Maria Sterk (DSB Bank)
4th Bianca Roosenboom (CadoMotus)

The mens race started off fast, and by the half way point the deciding breakaway had already formed and taken a lap over the peleton. In the leading breakaway were all the top sprinters from each team including Karlo Timmerman (Renault), Arjan Stroetinga (BAM), Sjoerd Huisman (Nefit) and Ingmar Berga (DSB Bank).

In the final sprint for the peleton Shane Dobbin (DSB Bank) went around the outside to pass with one lap to go for the pack sprint and ended up crashing into the wall and dislocating his shoulder. Unfortunately this accident ended Shane's starts in the KNSB Cup and his marathon season for 2008-2009 having to take at least a few days rest before getting back into training.

With Ingmar Berga (DSB Bank) crossing the line right behind Sjoerd Huisman (Nefit) in second place, the jury decided that because he skated across the line lunging with the front of his foot in the air he was relegated to fourth place. The final results for the first race of the men are as follows:

Mens Marathon Results

1st Sjoerd Huisman (Nefit)
2nd Arjan Stroetinga (BAM)
3rd Karlo Timmerman (Renault)
4th Ingmar Berga (DSB Bank)

Tomorrow is another day with the marathon racing heading to the South of Netherlands in Breda. Shane Dobbin will be taking a full rest tomorrow and heading to the physio for treatment to get back on his skates as soon as possible.