The Dutch selection for the first round of World Cup was revealed. It will take place in Antwerp on Sunday. The title holder, Mathieu van der Poel will not be at the start of this first round, unlike Fem van Empel and of Joris Nieuwenhuis, who are making their return. Among men, we will find in particular Lars van der Haar, Pim Ronhaar or even Ryan Kamp while in women, Ceylin Alverado et Lucinda Brand will be among the favorites. Puck Pieterse is also absent.
Video – Van der Poel is the reigning World Cup winner
“Fem van Empel faces more competition…”
Gerben de Knegtthe national coach, spoke about the selection: “It's positive that Joris Nieuwenhuis can race again. He started to see an upward trend again and was able to put in some good training. We can't expect top form yet, but it will definitely happen again in the coming weeks. Thanks to a large number of Dutch people in the top 50 of the UCI rankings, we can present four hopefuls in the men's category, as they do not have their own competition at this World Cup in Antwerp.
“You see that the best Dutch riders are getting stronger and stronger and that the European champion and world champion Fem van Empel also has more competition from Ceylin Alvarado and Lucinda Brand. We have already seen some great matches. It is good for the sport that foreign riders can become more and more involved in the battle for podium places.”explained Knegt about the women's selection.
The complete selections
Elite Men:
1. Joris Nieuwenhuis
2. Lars van der Haar
3. Pim Ronhaar
4. Ryan Kamp
5. Corné van Kessel
6. Mees Hendrikx
7. Danny van Lierop
8. David Haverdings
9. Guus van den Eijnden
10 . Keije Sun
Elite Women:
1. Lucinda Brand
2. Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado
3. Fem van Empel
4. Manon Bakker
5. Inge van der Heijden
6. Annemarie Worst
7. Leonie Bentveld
8. Denise Betsema
9. Aniek van Alphen
10. Larissa Hartog
11. Jamie de Beer
12. Puck Langenbarg
13. Iris Offerein
