Armitstead wins Ronde van Drenthe World Cup

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Lizzie Armitstead (Boels Dolmans) claimed her first World Cup victory in the opening round at the Ronde van Drenthe. The British champion attacked from a chase group and then persisted in a long chase to bridge up to Anna van der Breggen (Rabo-Liv). Armitstead then out-smarted the young Dutch rider in the two-woman sprint to pull on the first World Cup leader's jersey of the year. Shelley Olds (MCipollini) was third from the chasing bunch.

"I finally got my big victory here," Armitstead said. "I was quite happy with how I started the season, with third places in Het Nieuwsblad and the Drentse 8 and a victory in the Omloop van het Hageland. But here was that big win."

Van der Breggen escaped with teammate Iris Slappendel on the penultimate lap, building up a lead of nearly a minute at the bell. The pair were assisted on the final lap when the chasing bunch was led off course momentarily.

The mistake only served to whip up the fury of the chasing group, who closed in on the Rabo-Liv duo as the final ascent of the VAM-berg approached. A good part of the work was done by Armitstead's teammate, time trial world champion Ellen van Dijk. "What a luxury to have a helper like Ellen van Dijk, who really acted as an engine for me in the final. It is very nice that I can finish off that work."

Van der Breggen left Slappendel behind as the climb commenced, and by the top, Armitstead attacked from the chase group and had succeeded in passing Slappendel.

Armistead kept the pressure on and finally joined Van der Breggen inside the final 10km. The pair worked smoothly together until the final 500m, when Armistead stranded her Dutch foe on the front. The tactic worked perfectly, and Armitstead got the jump into the final 200m, and won the race with room to celebrate.

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