Riejanne Markus wins elite women's Dutch time trial title for second year in a row

Riejanne Markus (Visma-Lease a Bike) successfully defended her title in the elite women's time trial at the Netherlands Road Championships on Wednesday winning the 36.8km event for the second year in a row.

Markus covered the route in the fastest time of 47:17, beating runner-up and Visma-Lease a Bike teammate Lieke Nooijen by 29 seconds. Tour de France winner Demi Vollering (SD Worx-Protime) finished in third place at 1:12 back.

"Beforehand, I could only dream of this scenario," Markus said. "I knew I had a good chance, but at the same time I was aware that it was going to be very difficult. 

"It feels a little unreal that I get to grab this title for the second year in a row. Things have been going very well lately. This title feels a bit like the icing on the cake."

The elite women's event was held across 36.8km in Steenbergen. Markus went into the day as the defending champion and the favourite after a strong early season of racing on the Women's WorldTour, where she finished second overall at the Vuelta España Femenina. She also won Veenendaal-Veenendaal Classic and was second overall at the Volta Ciclista a Catalunya Femenina.

It was no surprise to see Nooijen also on the podium after she had finished with a strong result in the time trial at the Tour de Normandie.

Vollering arrived at the National Championships fresh off of an overall victory at the Tour de Suisse, where she also won three of the four stages, including the time trial. The overall win extended her stage racing winning streak this year to four in a row, having also won Vuelta España Femenina, Itzulia Women and Vuelta a Burgos.

Just off the podium was Loes Adegeest (FDJ-SUEZ), who finished 1:36 behind Markus' winning time. Lidl-Trek teammates Lucinda Brand and Shirin van Anrooij finished in fifth and sixth, respectively, while Mischa Bredewold (SD Worx-Protime) finished seventh on the day.

The elite women compete for the road race title on a 139km course in Arnhem on Sunday. 

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