Elite men covered a distance of 222.8 kilometers in autumn weather. Here again, the key points were the Limburg circuit, which included climbs, cobblestone sectors and narrow roads. In total, the Limburg circuit was beaten three times.
Latvia was planned to be represented by four cyclists in the competition, however shortly before the championship, the leader of the national team, Emīls Liepiņš, fell ill, thus leaving Mārtīns Pluto, Krister Anson and Aleks Krasta in the triumvirate.
Position was key in this very fast race, very much suited to the sprinters. This was especially evident in the Limburg circle. Among our men, Pluto drove closer to the front, while the two debutants – Krasts and Anson – were more in the rear. The big fight started in the third lap of Limburg, when the World Champion Mathieu Van Der Pool also had his say. The large group became smaller and smaller. Mārtiņš Pluto was in the second group, while the other two Latvians were in the third group.
There was a large group of about 50 drivers in front, in which Italy had the numerical advantage with Yonatan Milan in the leading role. Belgians, Danes and Dutch were also present in large numbers. Among the Baltics, the Estonians were among the leaders, with the talented Madi Mihkelsa at the head.
Everything was decided in the finishing sprint of the big group. The Estonian Madis Mihkels was outstanding, who fought for victory in the battle with the great powers until the end. The northern neighbor won a bronze medal. Home team Tim Merleer became the champion, leaving the leading Dutch sprinter Olav Koei in second place in a beautiful fight. The leaders spent 4 hours 37 minutes and 9 seconds on the track. Average speed 48 kilometers per hour.
Among the cyclists from Latvia, Mārtiņš Pluto finished, who managed to win the 60th place in the competition of 131 cyclists. He lost 7 minutes and 29 seconds to the winner. The two other Latvians were too far behind the leaders before the last lap of Hasselt to be allowed to finish.
In the morning session, among the 97 cyclists in the junior girls’ group was also Liva Schlosberga. The athlete of coach Raivja Belohvoszczyk got into a collision at the very beginning, after which she drove a little more cautiously. Liva stayed in the leading group until the end of the penultimate lap, when she was delayed due to a fall. Liva finished 2 minutes and 56 seconds behind winner Puka Langenbarg from the Netherlands. It gave 64th place.
2024-09-15 20:00:36