The road race action kicked off at the national championships on Saturday. Dylan Groenewegen became the first winner in Europe when he won a bunch sprint in the Netherlands before Jose Joaquin Rojas soloed to victory in Spain. Matthias Brändle became a late addition to the list of time trial champions by winning the race in Austria.

 

We have gathered a few reactions.

 

The Netherlands

Dylan Groenewegen: With this jersey, my first Tour de France will be even more special

Dylan Groenewegen won the Dutch championship in Ouddorp today. Team LottoNL-Jumbo’s sprinter finished off the strong lead-out Timo Roosen gave him on the Brouwersdam to beat Wouter Wippert (Cannondale) and Wim Stroetinga (Parkhotel Valkenburg).

 

Team LottoNL-Jumbo went completely for the chances of its sprinter Groenewegen during the Dutch championship. Groenewegen already won six races before the championship and was protected by his team-mates in every breakaway and in the peloton.

 

“It was quite chaotic for a long time,” Groenewegen said. “Everyone wanted to be part of the breakaway and there was always one of us among the leaders. The whole team did its best to bring a sprint. We succeeded and Timo Roosen delivered a perfect lead-out. Stroetinga went for his chances early, but I immediately felt that I had more power.”

 

Groenewegen passed Stroetinga and didn’t let Wippert come closer, so he was able to put on the red, white and blue jersey afterwards.

 

“That’s amazing,” the new Dutch champion said. “This is the first time that I am the Dutch champion. The last time that the team grabbed the title was quite long ago and I was the main favourite as well, so I felt some pressure. I was very confident, on the other hand. We finished it off as a team.”

 

"We had gone through this scenario,” he told Wielerglits. There were no breakaways and if someone got away, we were there. We raced well. I felt very good and showed my strength. "

 

"It would be ideal with a stage win, at the Tour but you cannot expect that in your first Tour. You never know. If you participate, you can win. We will try to continue this. Maybe something beautiful can come out.”

 

"Finally a red-white-blue jersey for the team,” he exclaimed in an interview with De TelegraaF. “It had been a long time since the last one and therefore the pressure was quite big

 

“I was the top favorite and many people designated me as the winner. That's easy to say, of course, you have to live up to it first. I'm glad I was able to finish off the work of my team with this jersey. This is so cool for me and for the team. We analyzed the race and I could finish it off.

 

"At the Tour I'm going to just try. Now my first Tour de France is even more special. To ride in red, white and blue in France seems great.

 

"For a sprinter it is important that he has confidence. I have that. I saw Stroetinga go and actually passed him pretty easily.”

 

Sports director Jan Boven added that the most important thing succeeded.

 

“We wanted to have the new Dutch champion,” the sports director said. “When you create a profile like today’s in Goeree-Overflakkee, you get an exciting championship. The big part of today’s race wasn’t too nervous, but the local laps were. We had to be very focussed in those kilometres. Mike Teunissen, Moreno Hofland and Bert-Jan Lindeman paid attention to that job.”

 

“It was a big fight from start to finish. The average speed of the race was 48 kilometres an hour and that says a lot about the way they were riding.”

 

A leading group with Bram Tankink, Boy van Poppel (Trek), Mathieu van der Poel (Beobank-Corendon) and Huub Duijn (Roompot) grabbed a 20-second lead.

 

“That wasn’t a good situation. We had to work hard in the chase, but if those riders wouldn’t have escaped, others would have. It was at least a good thing that Tankink was among them. We made sure that the four riders who had their jobs during the the preparation of the sprint started that part of the race fresh. With 1.5 kilometre to go, we took control of the race and held it until the end.”

 

"The plan was 100% for Dylan and we succeeded,” manager Richard Plugge told Wielerflits. "It is beautiful. For years it failed. We wanted very much to have the red, white and blue in the Tour de France.

 

"I think it was to evident that we were focused on Dylan and we have done it well, although not everyone agrees with it. This was the goal and we succeeded.

 

"You do need to finish it off. We're taking a big risk by doing it this way. Then it's super nice that you can finish it off.”

 

Wouter Wippert: I made a stupid mistake

Wouter Wippert had to settle for second.

 

 "I make a very stupid mistake at the end and then you know it is over," he told Wielerflits. "I waited. Wim Stroetinga went to the right and I was on Dylan's wheel. It was easier than I expected. Dylan could keep his speed. As he went, I knew I was going to be late.”

 

Furious Wim Stroetinga: I know I am the fastest sprinter in the Netherlands

Wim Stroetinga finished third.

 

 "I want to win and did not come here to be third," he told Wielerflits. "Then it seems logical to me that you're angry, right?

 

"Maybe I needed a little more help. Dion [Beukeboom, teammate] actually made ​​a crucial mistake, so we were boxed in. So yeah, that's kind of sad. I do not blame him. I owe so much to Dion and all of the team, I can absolutely not blame him.

 

"This was the goal of the year. I am the second loser and I get nothing. I do not think I can sleep tonight,” he told De Telegraaf.

 

"First I was in a good position but an incredible mistake was made. They moved forward without me sitting in the wheel and then I got boxed in. I had already had to start 300 meters from the finish line. I knew that was necessary. I could win but now I finished third.

 

"I know that I am really the fastest. I beat Groenewegen last week, but apart from that I just know that I'm faster. I know I'm the fastest in the Netherlands, but you should also have a good lead-out and that failed today.”

 

Roompot aggression unrewarded at national championships

There was a spontaneous and sporty applause in the crowded Roompot - Orange Peloton fan villiage when Dylan Groenewegen won the title. At the same time there was disappointment among the enthusiastic fans. The feeling was that the most offensive team in the National Championships, with places of honor for Barry Markus and Raymond Kreder, were insufficiently rewarded. 

 

"We had a real race as you want it at a championship. And maybe we had at least deserved a podium place," sports director Michel Cornelisse summed up the general feeling within the team.

 

Together with colleagues Erik Breukink in the support vehicle and Jean-Paul van Poppel among the more than 350 guests, Cornelisse was already had to handle adversity after five kilometers. No less than five Roompot - Orange Peloton riders were involved in a crash and had to chase early in the race. Etienne van Empel again hit the ground later and could not continue the race. After many attacks, Nick van der Lijke was in a group of seven.

 

"The pace was consistently very high," Erik Breukink analyzed afterwards. "And because there was not much wind, it was difficult to get away. And when it finally did succeed, like with an attempt from twelve riders with Johnny Hoogerland and Wesley Kreder, LottoNL-Jumbo refused to work. Perhaps it ws understandable because they had the fastest sprinter in the country in their team, but it did not make for the most scintillating race." 

 

Also in the finale, when Hoogerland had to leave the race due to a crash ourse and Huub Duijn attacked together with Mathieu van der Poel, Boy van Poppel and Bram Tankink, the team failed to get a decisive gao. 

 

"At that point, we hoped to stay away," said Duijn, "We also rode quite hard. But we remained in sight of the large group. And in the final kilometers, there was simply nothing to do against the supremacy of the team going for the sprint."

 

After an unsuccessful attempt by Berden de Vries to join lone escapee Pim Ligthart, it came to the expected mass sprint. Dylan Groenewegen crowned his successful transition to the Dutch World Tour team with a powerful sprint. Barry Markus (5th) showed respect to his nephew:

 

"I know how hard he has worked last winter after his heavy crash in Koolskamp in September. It is nice that he can go to the Tour in the red-white-blue jersey. Personally, I have to be satisfied with fifth. Fortunately, there is a growing trend in my performances."

 

Raymond Kreder (6th) and Tim Kerkhof (13th) were also in the top fifteen. 

 

"The boys did what they could and we have given the fans a nice day," team manager Michael Zijlaard said between the gathered enthusiasts. "And that's what this teamstands for: the passion for cycling with our partners."

 

Tom Dumoulin: It was a strange race

In the Netherlands Ramon Sinkeldam took the Giant-Alpecin’s top placing in the sprint finish that decided the race, placing eighth after struggling to find an opening in the final hundred metres. After several breakaway attempts, with the team always keeping a close eye on the front of the race, everything came back together in the final kilometres for a bunch sprint. Sinkeldam started to move up next to the barriers but with riders still to pass he couldn’t find the opening needed to give his all in the push for the line. Sam Oomen finished in 32nd, with Koen de Kort 36th, Albert Timmer 46th, Laurens ten Dam 47th, Lars van der Haar 49th, Tom Dumoulin 52nd and Roy Curvers 64th.

 

"The championships didn’t end well for us,” Tom Dumoulin told Wielerflits. "It was a very strange championship race actually. It was a weird course. But yes, it can also be in this way. We have tried to make the race hard, but the wind was not strong enough. I could split it a few times, with Koen (De kort, ed.). But yes, ultimately, thirteen or fourteen LottoNL-Jumbo riders worked. Then you will of course never succeed on such a course.”

 

Lone Pim Ligthart comes up short at Dutch championships

For Pim Ligthart was a struggle against the big team. As a loneLotto Soudal rider, the former Dutch champion went on the attack. 

 

"It is very difficult for me to just sprint with all these trains so I had to do something,” he told Wielerflits. "It was unfortunate that the LottoNL-Jumbo riders did not allow me to ride away. They are right to do so. It's their right. It's annoying for guys like me, who love to race.”

 

Mathieu van der Poel: On a different course, I can race for the title

Mathieu van der Poel showed himself frequently in the finale.

 

"If there will be a course that suits me, I will go to the start to win,” he told Wielerflits. “There's no disappointment. I had thought that the LottoNL-Jumbo riders would perhaps let us go as Tankink was there but apparently they were very very confident in Dylan Groenewegen. I did not come here with a lot of great ambitions. I just wanted to see how it went and be part of the race.”

 

Spain

Jose Joaquin Rojas: In the past I would have waited for the sprint but I am a different rider now

Make that seven. The Movistar Team's love story with the Spanish Championships remains alive after the Eusebio Unzué-led squad stuck  to their exemplary performance from previous editions in Blue. José Joaquín Rojas completed a sensational ride to gold in Cocentaina, after 194km of rough roads and continuous ups and downs in the hot Alicante sierras. The man from Cieza took to fruition an attacking race by the telephone squad from its very start as Rubén Fernández and José Herrada got into the early break on lap one of six scheduled in the event.

 

The two Blues were never allowed more than four minutes of advantage as several counterattacks forced them to start to pick up their pace early. Fernández was caught, together with local hero David Belda (ROT), by a quartet including Rojas, who never stopped making efforts to maintain a steady rhythm at the front and keep the other teams' leaders out of balance. Erviti and Ventoso, part of a seven-man attempt behind the two Movistar Team riders in the lead, made Alejandro Valverde and his team-mates even more calm, which Rojas profited from to take the reins of the situation in the final 32k lap.

 

A series of attacks by Rojas allowed him to leave Vicioso (KAT; silver) and Simón (VAT; bronze) behind to claim his second rojigualda jersey, five years after Castellón. Behind in the regrouped bunch, Valverde (4th) and Jesús Herrada (5th) celebrated a win which becomes the fourth national title of the weekend for Unzué's lads and marks a big milestone: for the first time in their four-decade history, the Movistar Team will reach the Tour de France with 30+ victories, a number reinforced by the 13 different riders with one or more wins in 2016.

 

José Joaquín Rojas said: 

 

“People say that I wasn't in the running for victory, but I'd tell them to look at my work in the Giro or the Route du Sud since those were races where I proved that my role in the team is quite different from the past. I don't race looking for individual goals anymore: I do things that can be valuable for the whole team and that's how I earned my team-mates' confidence, especially for these Championships.

 

“It's been a beautiful season for all of us: we claimed the Giro podium with Alejandro, we took so many wins that contribute to keeping the squad's streak alive... It's not so important to win by myself - I've found this role pretty comfortable for me.

 

"Should today's race situation have happened years before today, I'd probably have saved all my energies for the sprint, because I often came out as the fastest in them. However, things have changed for me: I just couldn't wait, because I had the legs to win solo, and I couldn't reach the finish with Vicioso, either. Despite Ángel getting a bit old, he's always a very dangerous rider who can play his cards well. I tried to make things hard in my group, create splits and attack as much as I could. I also tried to make my team-mates ride calmly behind and avoid any potentially dangerous contenders bridging across. I attacked lots of times in the final lap: I couldn't make a gap with the first one, then Vicioso was the only one to keep my wheel in the second, and with 5-6 kilometrs to go, I could leave him behind and go for the win.

 

”It was a marvellous day for me: riding almost on home roads, with lots of people already at the depart (9am), on beautiful terrain... It makes the win even more valuable. It was also a season fighting against many things, sort of my style of racing applied to life: I had to undergo heart surgery in the winter, I broke my wrist in Paris-Nice and it hurt me a lot, even today. Despite all of that, I took energy out of nowhere to claim a win at last, such an important win as you can wear the jersey for a whole season.

 

“Now I'd like to ride the Vuelta - the Qatar Worlds don't worry me so much, as the national team coach didn't have me in last season when I was in such strong form."

 

Angel Vicioso proud of silver medal at Spanish Championships

Team KATUSHA rider Angel Vicioso won the silver medal in the road race of the Spanish National Championships which was held today in Cocentaina, not far from Alicante. In the race of 194 km Vicioso finished 2nd, 7 seconds behind the new Spanish Champion José-Joaquín Rojas from Movistar. Third place took Jordi Simón from Verva ActiveJet.

 

"I am very happy with my silver medal. Of course, I wanted more: when Rojas attacked with 2 km to go I was just a bit boxed in at a corner. It was a good move from Rojas. Maybe I could have done something in the sprint as I am a quite fast rider, but we were three in the group and Rojas is also a a very fast sprinter. I really would have been the happiest man on earth winning these championships, but anyway I am happy with my result. Now I am going to the Tour de France with a good feeling. Also, “Purito” and Alberto Losada did a very strong race. I think we are ready," said Angel Vicioso.

 

The race in Cocentaina was held on a hilly circuit of 6 laps of 32 km each. With 50 km to the finish after a number of attacks a group with Vicioso, Rojas, Simón and Pardilla went away. They joined an early break of two riders. At some 20 km from the finish there were only four riders in front: Angel Vicioso, José-Joaquín Rojas, Sergio Pardilla and Jordi Simón. His attack at the last kilometers brought the gold medal to Rojas. KATUSHA’s rider Vicioso won the sprint for second place.

 

"All three riders were good today. Angel was in front in a group of 6 riders, later Alberto Losada launched a counterattack from a chasing group. Joaquim Rodriguez was close too. Of course, it was not easy at all to fight with 3 riders against 17 riders of Movistar and 14 riders of Caja Rural. But we did it well and a silver medal is a nice reward for our team," added sports directorXavier Florencio.

 

Impressive Verva-ActiveJet rider takes bronze medal at Spanish Championships

Jordi Simon got the bronze medal. The Catalan rider was very active throughout the race, attacking at km 140 and getting into the breakaway started by David Belda (Roth) and Ruben Fernandez (Movistar).

 

The performance of the riders from the Polish team Verva ActiveJet is very commendable as he didn’t have any teammates in a race where Movistar had 16.

 

"I'm happy, but not too much because I could smell the victory. It is very difficult to fight against a team like Movistar which has 15 riders. I tried with five kilometres to go but Rojas chased me down. Then he went and in the end I fought for a medal. I am happy but I also have the bitterness after having been able to fight for the jersey.

 

"I saw people go on the attack and when I went, a small group left. Then we were six riders. We cooperated and in the end when we were staying away, I tried. In the end Rojas was the strongest.”

 

"It's more than a bronze. I am very satisfied. Before the start, I didn’t think that – as a lone rider from a Polish team – I could fight against teams with 15 riders. I have to enjoy it.”

 

"I do not put any limits on myself and try to give the maximum. I'm happy to take that step at the pro continental level, with better structure and the opportunity to do important races. I will try to fight and reach the highest level.”

 

Caja Rural left disappointed at Spanish road race championships

Caja Rural had two riders in the top ten, Carlos Barbero in7th and Ángel Madrazo in 10th.

 

On a hot dat, the team had Miguel Angel Benito and Diego Rubio in the early break. Later they had Jonathan Lastra in a counterattack and they had Sergio Pardilla in the group that decided the race.

 

 

Manger Eugenio Goikoetxea said: "The balance can be considered as good. We wee in all breaks. We had good presence in the deciding part of the race. It was too bad that Pardilla was unable to follow in the finale and that Prades couldn't do the sprint due to cramps. I think we've shown a good image and we have put the Movistar in trouble until the last five kilometers."

 

Austria

Matthias Brändle: I hope I have proved that I deserve to go to Rio

“In defending this title, I hope that I have proved that I belong at the Olympic Games," Matthias Brändle said after his victory in the Austrian time trial championships on Saturday.  “I had the strength and the heart to win this distinctive jersey.  Obviously, I am very happy with this victory, but I took a lot of risks in order to achieve this goal.  In the final kilometers, I felt like I must have been at the center of a big storm.  It was raining a lot, and the gusts of wind were sweeping the course. At the finish line, I still was 42 seconds ahead of the rider in second place.  It’s a pretty big gap, and I think I proved that I could be a member of the team selected to go to the Olympics in Rio.”

 

47.3km/h was the average speed that Brändle, who also formerly held the world hour record, managed to post in his time trial victory around the Wallersee.  He only took 27’53” to swallow 22 kilometers of the course.

 

It is the fourth national time trial championship that Matthias Brändle has won.  The Austrian rider, a time trial specialist, has already won this event in 2009, 2013, and 2014.