Time to line up those jerseys in the Dutch national colors of red, white and blue again this week, starting on Wednesday, June 21st, in Elspeet. In the heart of the Netherlands, the battle for the time trial titles in both the men's and women's categories will take place. Who will succeed Bauke Mollema and Ellen van Dijk? IDLProCycling.com gives you a preview of what we can expect.
In this article
2022 Bauke Mollema
2021 Tom Dumoulin2020 Not ridden
2019 Jos van Emden
2018 Dylan van Baarle
2017 Tom Dumoulin
2016 Tom Dumoulin
2015 Wilco Kelderman
2014 Tom Dumoulin
2013 Lieuwe Westra
2022 Ellen van Dijk
2021 Anne van der Breggen2020 Not Ridden
2019 Annemiek van Vleuten
2018 Ellen van Dijk
2017 Annemiek van Vleuten
2016 Annemiek van Vleuten
2015 Anna van der Breggen
2014 Annemiek van Vleuten
2013 Ellen van Dijk
On Wednesday, both the men and women will ride on the same course - isn't that nice and easy! The race consists of two laps, starting at the square in Elspeet and finishing on Apeldoornseweg, also in Elspeet. The lap is a little over 21 kilometers long, making the total time trial distance 42 kilometers. Because of this, this is a race for true specialists, men and women with endurance.
Looking at the map, there aren't many obstacles on the course. We will speed through the beautiful surroundings of the municipality of Nunspeet, where climbs are scarce. With long, straight sections, riders can push hard and truly tap into their power here. Only the final stretch towards the passage and finish in Elspeet has a few more twists and turns.
Weather
Wednesday is expected to have delightful weather in Elspeet, with temperatures ranging from 25 to 27 degrees Celsius. Towards the evening, when the men finish, the temperature will drop to around 23 to 24 degrees. The wind will be blowing from the north-northwest throughout the day, but given it will be a force 2, it won't play a significant role.
Times
Start women: 3:20 p.m.
Finish women: Around 5:33 p.m.
Start men: 5:25 p.m.
Finish men: Around 7:29 p.m.
The organization certainly cannot complain about a lack of enthusiasm when it comes to the men's competition. Several WorldTour heavyweights are coming to Elspeet to test their legs and go all out for the red, white and blue jersey. Defending champion Bauke Mollema will once again be participating, but the question remains: how good is he right now? Last year, he came into the race in top form after the Giro d'Italia and powered his way to his first national title in Emmen. After a somewhat anonymous Giro this year, the big question is how his legs will perform on Wednesday...
The competition will be huge for Mollema. Jumbo-Visma is bringing Wilco Kelderman, who is currently in excellent shape. The Dutchman finished fourth in the Tour de Suisse, with a respectable twelfth place in the closing time trial. At the National Championships, he should at least aim for a podium finish with those powerful legs, which will be crucial in supporting team leader Jonas Vingegaard in the Tour de France.
The third top favorite on the list is Thymen Arensman, the rising star at INEOS Grenadiers. We haven't seen the 23-year-old Dutchman in action since the Giro, so we are very curious to see if he can bring his top form from the third week to the National Championships - just like Mollema did last year. We know he won't be at the start line just for fun. Arensman always races to win, no matter where or when.
Mollema shows off in his red, white and blue jersey after his National Time Trial title last year.
Let's go back to Jumbo-Visma for a moment, as they have three very interesting names lined up for Wednesday: Jos van Emden, Tim van Dijke and Sam Oomen. Van Emden, who was crowned Dutch time trial champion in 2019, will find that Elspeet suits the most powerful of riders, which means it's right up his alley. Van Dijke and Oomen also have the potential to deliver strong time trial performances, provided they are in good form.
Among the outsiders, we have Daan Hoole, representing Trek-Segafredo, who is starting to make a name for himself more and more, especially in time trials. He has never won in this discipline, but he did achieve a respectable third place last year, finishing half a minute behind Mollema. We are also curious about the performance of Sjoerd Bax, who will be starting in a UAE Team Emirates jersey. He is not necessarily a specialist, but with good form, one can go far in a National Championship.
In the women's race, the field of participants is just as strong, if not better, than in the men's race. Defending champion Ellen van Dijk is absent due to pregnancy, but we do have Annemiek van Vleuten, the 2019 winner, at the start line. After a slightly disappointing spring season, she won the Women's Vuelta in May, followed by a training at high altitude. Van Vleuten has put in the work and now aims to excel in the Giro and Tour. If she has managed to get her legs to peak performance, she is the top favorite.
If Van Vleuten falls slightly short of her form from last year, Demi Vollering automatically becomes a contender. The Dutch leader of SD Worx has been winning everything there is to win this year, but she has never been able to match Van Vleuten in this discipline. Will there be a changing of the guard, and can Vollering claim her first national title?
In fact, there are two other riders we truly believe are capable of becoming national champions. The first one being Shirin van Anrooij. The young Dutch rider, donning the Trek-Segafredo jersey, won the U23 national championship last year and is excellent in time trials. Can she compete with the best of the best? After an impressive spring season, we wouldn't be surprised. The same goes for Riejanne Markus, who finished second in the National Time Trial last year and then won the road race. Markus, representing Jumbo-Visma, is in top form, so we certainly consider her a contender for the title on Wednesday!
Van Vleuten is the reigning Olympic time trial champion, let's not forget that!
As in previous years, the National Time Trial unfortunately cannot be followed live on television. Fortunately, IDLProCycling.com will be on site and with generally good timekeeping, we will host an up-to-date liveblog for you. Following the women's and men's time trials, we'll post an extensive report on our website, including post-race interviews from Elspeet!
Bram van der Ploeg (Twitter: @BvdPloegg)