Lieuwe Westra (Vacansoleil) overcame the effects of his recent Dauphiné crash to defend his status as Dutch time trial champion when the national championships kicked off in the Netherlands today. In a tight battle, he held off Niki Terpstra (Omega Pharma-Quick Step) by just 4 seconds while Tom Dumoulin (Argos-Shimano) finished 3rd.

When Lieuwe Westra crashed hard at the Criterium du Dauphiné and was later forced to abandoned, it was not only a huge blow to his Tour de France ambitions. His possibilities of defending his status as Dutch time trial champion also came under threat as it severely disrupted his preparations for the event.

Today, he left those doubts behind him when he defended his crown in tight battle with Niki Terpstra (Omega Pharma-Quick Step). As last year's winner, he was the final rider down the ramp and he set the best time at each intermediate check before he finally crossed the line to set the best time.

However, it was never a given fact that he would win the event. After 16,5km of the 52,6km course, he had put 10 seconds into Terpstra and when he crossed the finish line to start the second lap on the circuit, he had extended his advantage by a further 11 seconds. At the third time check, Terpstra had reduced his deficit back down to 10 seconds and suddenly the race had turned into a nail-biting affair.

When Westra crossed the finish line, he had, however, maintained 4 seconds of his advantage, thus allowing to wear the Dutch champion's jersey for another year. Talented Tom Dumoulin (Argos-Shimano) lost 40 seconds to the Vacansoleil rider, the performance putting him onto the final step of the podium.

The recent winner of the Ster ZLM Toer Lars Boom (Blanco) was the penultimate rider down the ramp and had a slow start. He was, however, caught by Westra on the first lap and by matching his compatriot's speed on the remaining part of the course, he took 4th, 1.03 behind the winner.

The top 5 was completed by 4-time winner Stef Clement (Blanco) whose time of 1.05.19 was 1.20 slower than Westra's.

Due to the nature of the course, the riders were sent off in two blocks with the first one mostly consisting of lesser-known riders. The Blanco riders Dennis Van Winden, Marc Goos, Rick Flens and former winner Jos Van Emden were, however, also part of the first wave of riders, and when they had all finished their rides, Flens had set the best time ahead of Goos.

Continental rider Dion Beukeboom (Cycling Team De Rijke) was the first rider from the final wave to beat Flens' time and his mark was not bettered by neither Wilco Kelderman (Blanco) nor Jens Mouris (Orica-GreenEdge). Peter Koning moved into the hot seat be lowering the best time by another 23 seconds but his time as leader was limited as Clement beat him less than a minute later.

Dumoulin did it even better before Terpstra and ultimately Westra further lowered the mark.

Result:

1. Lieuwe Westra 1.03.59

2. Niki Terpstra +0.04

3. Tom Dumoulin +0.40

4. Lars Boom +1.03

5. Stef Clement +1.20

6. Peter Koning +1.21

7. Martijn Keizer +1.42

8. Dion Beukeboom +1.44

9. Wilco Kelderman +2.07

10. Jens Mouris +2.11