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It was a fast and aggressive start to the 155.8-kilometre course from Maastricht to Valkenburg, with the 21 climbs dotted throughout the Limburg region seeing some attacking moves early from the likes of Annemiek van Vleuten (Movistar), Marianne Vos (Jumbo-Visma) and Australian Grace Brown (FDJ-Suez), although those attempts were shut down by the peloton.
The dour, rainy conditions made the hilly race even tougher for the riders and Lucinda Brand (Trek-Segafredo) and Sabrine Stultiens (Liv Racing TeqFind) made the most of a lull in speed to launch an attack that gained over two minutes of the peloton with 45 kilometres remaining. The were hauled back with 23 kilometres left as a series of teams increased the pace over the loop around the Geulhemmerberg, Bemelerberg and the famous Cauberg.
A number of other attacks were shut down quickly by the peloton as the race approached the final ascent of the Cauberg, the final set-piece climb and flat run to the finish to decide the race for another year.
Soraya Paladin (Canyon-SRAM) attacked from the base of the Bemelerberg, gaining a small lead at the summit of the climb, with Brown bridging over on the flat. The pair lead the way with a slim advantage onto the final ascent of the Cauberg, with Paladin leaving Brown behind on the slopes, but only briefly leading the race before being swept up by the attackers from behind.
It was a select group at the top of the climb, and Demi Vollering (SD-Worx) picked a moment when the rest of the group wasn’t watching to launch an attack. She was away and clear with momentum before anyone spotted her, and with SD-Worx teammate Lotte Kopecky marking the chase, there was little coordination behind.
Vollering soloed away to victory, while behind Kopecky mopped up the sprint for second, another 1-2 for the teammates, but very different scenes afterwards compared to the tension that followed the exact same result at Strade Bianche earlier in the season. Kopecky made a beeline to Vollering for a hug and it was a more fitting celebration of the dominance of SD-Worx.
“I don’t believe it yet I think," said Vollering. "This was the plan and we executed it so good. I wanted to attack on top of the Cauberg and I saw that a lot of riders were already finished there. I thought ‘ok, this is perfect for us’. I saw that Lotte was super good still and still in there behind.”
The best-placed Australian on the day was Grace Brown in sixth, somehow recovering from her efforts animating the race to sprint for the credible placing from the chasing group.
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