Pieters and Vivani take the Elite honours in Alkmaar, Netherlands
10 August 2019: Elite Women: Alkmaar to Alkmaar, 115km
Amy Pieters (Netherlands/Boels – Dolmans Cycling Team) gave the host nation a final tally of five gold medals to head up the medal table when she outsprinted Italy’s Elena Cecchini and Germany’s Lisa Klein after long breakaway.
After controlling the situation in the first stages of the race, approximately 80 kilometres from the finish, action unfolded which then proved to be decisive in the final with the breakaway by Lisa Klein (Germany), Amy Pieters (Netherlands) and Elena Cecchini (Italy). The leading trio quickly gained a lead of more than 2 minutes over the peloton, a lead which they managed to maintain despite a strong prevailing wind all day.
In the last few kilometres, the gap on the leading riders’ started to close, but the group did not manage to catch them up. In the final sprint of three, Amy Pieters, who had already won the gold medal Wednesday in the Mixed Relay, achieved a decisive win over Elena Cecchini, and the German Lisa Klein who came third, following her second place won in the Individual Time-Trial and Mixed Relay a few days ago.
| 1 | Pieters Amy | Netherlands | 2:56:03 |
| 2 | Cecchini Elena | Italy | ,, |
| 3 | Klein Lisa | Germany | ,, |
| 4 | Wiebes Lorena | Netherlands | 0:25 |
| 5 | Barnes Alice | Great Britian | ,, |
| 6 | Wild Kirsten | Netherlands | ,, |
| 7 | Brennauer Lisa | Germany | ,, |
| 8 | Andersen Susanne | Norway | ,, |
| 9 | Majerus Christine | France | ,, |
| 10 | Leleivytė Rasa | Lithuania | ,, |
Full Results:
11 August 2019. Elite Men: Alkmaar to Alkmaar, 172.6km
Elia Viviani outsprints breakaway companions to become European champion
Three days and three gold medals for Deceuninck – Quick-Step riders on the international scene! After Remco Evenepoel’s dominating success in the time trial at the European Championships and Max Richeze’s landmark victory at the Pan American Games, this time Elia Viviani grabbed the headlines, in Alkmaar, where the 30-year-old Italian scored one of the biggest and most memorable wins of his career and made sure of donning the European Champion jersey for the next 12 months.
“It’s absolutely amazing, I can’t find the words to tell you what this means for me! I came out of the Tour de France with a good condition and was hoping to be in contention for the gold medal, and to finally get it, two years after I finished runner-up, gives me immense joy”, a smiling Elia said moments after the finish.
Sunday’s enthralling 172.6km race was ripped apart by the Italian team, who took advantage of the strong crosswinds to make a huge selection after just 20 kilometers. As a result, five different groups were spread across the road, and things didn’t stop there, as inside the last 70 kilometers the same Squadra Azzurra pushed again, this time on the local circuit, to make another split, with just 13 men surviving.
| 1 | Viviani Elia | Italy | 3:30:52 |
| 2 | Lampaert Yves | Belgium | 0:01 |
| 3 | Ackermann Pascal | Germany | 0:09 |
| 4 | Kristoff Alexander | Norway | 0:33 |
| 5 | Mørkøv Michael | Denmark | ,, |
| 6 | Bennett Sam | Ireland | ,, |
| 7 | Trentin Matteo | Italy | ,, |
| 8 | Mezgec Luka | Slovenia | ,, |
| 9 | Démare Arnaud | France | ,, |
| 10 | Selig Rüdiger | Germany | ,, |