Euro Championships: Van der Breggen triumphs in France
Olympic gold medalist Anna van der Breggen bests Katarzyna Niewiadoma and Elisa Longo Borghini at the European championships
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Olympic road champ Anna van der Breggen claimed the women’s European road title for the Netherlands on Saturday in Plumelec, France.
The 109.6km race was originally scheduled to have been held in Nice, in the south of France, but was moved to the Breton town of Plumelec after July’s terrorist attack.
An eight-rider breakaway jumped clear of the bunch just after the midway point of the race, but things came back together again with around 15km to go. The pack closed down a number of attempted moves in the waning kilometers before Poland’s Katarzyna Niewiadoma — van der Breggen’s trade teammate at Rabobank – Liv — attacked on the final climb of the day. Van der Breggen, Italy’s Elisa Longo Borghini, and Belarus’ Alena Amialiusik joined the move, with Lithuania’s Rasa Leleivyte latching on just in time for the sprint to the finish.
Van der Breggen was the first across the line in a very close contest, with Niewiadoma nabbing second place. Longo Borghini took third.