55th Olympia Tour - Prologue - 4  UCI 2.2
The Rabobanks Continental Team dominates the event, but what happens when your biggest rival is on your own team? Lars Boom and Martijn Maaskant rivals to the final stage.

Bart Hazen

The 2007 Olympia’s Tour was dominated by the Rabobank Continental Team. Rabobank won 7 of the 10 stages and had the first 6 places in the final GC. Thomas Berkhout (Rabobank) is the overall winner. After a thrilling stage race he was 2 seconds faster than his team mate and leader in the European Continental Tour, Martijn Maaskant. 2006 winner of this race Tom Veelers (Rabobank) was 3rd.

Prologue - Varsseveld
Lars Boom (Rabobank Continental Team) won the prologue of the Olympia’s Tour. The World Champion of Cyclocross was 10 sec. faster than the leader of the European Continental Tour Martijn Maaskant. Germ van der Burg (Ruiter Dakkapellen) was 3rd at 13 seconds. Lieuwe Westra (Krolstone) and former Rabobank rider and track specialist Robert Bartko completed the top 5.

Lars Boom World CycloCross Champion waits for the start of Stage 9
Photo c. Bart Hazen

Prologue - Varsseveld 6 km
1 Lars Boom (Ned) Rabobank Continental 7.26.3
2 Martijn Maaskant (Ned) Rabobank Continental 0.10.5
3 Germ van der Burg (Ned) De Ruiter Dakkapellen 0.13.5
4 Lieuwe Westra (Ned) Krolstone Continental Team 0.14.7
5 Robert Bartko (Ger) German National Team 0.15.9
6 Eelke Van Der Wal (Ned) Fondas-P3Transfer Team 0.16.7
7 Tom Veelers (Ned) Rabobank Continental 0.17.7
8 Thom Van Dulmen (Ned) Rabobank Continental 0.18.5
9 Tobias Erler (Ger) Team 3C - Gruppe Lamonta 0.20.2
10 Jos Pronk (Ned) Time - Van Hemert 0.21.1
11 Thomas Berkhout (Ned) Rabobank Continental 0.21.2
12 René Andrle (Cze) PSK Whirpool Hradec Kralove 0.21.3
13 Tom Leezer (Ned) Rabobank Continental 0.21.8
14 Erik Hoffmann (Nam) Team 3C - Gruppe Lamonta 0.23.8
15 Jure Zrimsek (Slo) Adria Mobil 0.24.1

Stage 1: Anholt (D) - Gendringen 158 km
The first stage was animated by wind and Echelons the formed. The break of the day came from Dennis Smit (Ubbink-Syntec) and Maurice Vrijmoed (Van Vliet). The duo had a gap of a few minutes but due to the work of among others Rabobank they were caught in the final kilometers. The next to attack was Norbert Poels (Fondas-P3) but also without success. The stage ended up in a sprint and it was Mini Rabo Martijn Maaskant who won the race ahead of Wim Stroetinga and Jos Pronk. Lars Boom remains in the lead but Martijn Maaskant is 2nd with the same time.

Martijn Maaskant UCI Europe Tour leader. Photo c. Bart Hazen

Result stage 1:
1 Martijn Maaskant (Ned) Rabobank Continental 3.38.41
2 Wim Stroetinga (Ned) Ubbink - Syntec Cycling Team
3 Jos Pronk (Ned) Time - Van Hemert
4 Marco Bos (Ned) Cyclingteam Jo Piels
5 Jacopo Guarnieri (Ita) Italian National Team
6 Fabio Masotti (Ita) Italian National Team
7 Marko Kump (Slo) Adria Mobil
8 Marc Hester (Den) Team Löwik Meubelen
9 Michael Morkov (Den) Team GLS
10 Lieuwe Westra (Ned) Krolstone Continental Team
11 Ger Soepenberg (Ned) Fondas-P3Transfer Team
12 Alain Van Katwijk (Ned) Van Vliet - EBH Advocaten
13 Jonas Jorgensen (Den) Team GLS
14 Ramunas Navardauskas (Ltu) Klaipeda - Splendid Cycling Team
15 Grischa Janorschke (Ger) Continental Team Milram

Stage 2: Gendringen - Hoofddorp 197 km
Stage 2 in Olympia’s Tour is won again by another rider of the Rabobank Continental team. Now it was time for Tom Leezer to win the stage ahead of his team mate Martijn Maaskant.
The stage was animated by Echelons forming on another windy day, finally a break of 12 escaped. Alain van Katwijk won the sprint of the10 chasers for third. Martijn Maaskant is the new leader. The Rabo lads 4 ruders in the top ten with Italian Young Gun an former Jr. national champ Enrico Peruffo of the Italian National team in 9th place. The name may be familiar to some as Enrico and his team mate Mauro Finetto were interviewed in 2003 after both lads captured silver and gold medals. Both names are making frequent appearances in Fabio's Young Gun reports this year.

Rabobank's Tom Leezer on the way to the start of a stage. Photo c. Bart Hazen

Result stage 2:
1 Tom Leezer (Ned) Rabobank Continental 4.28.24
2 Martijn Maaskant (Ned) Rabobank Continental
3 Alain Van Katwijk (Ned) Van Vliet - EBH Advocaten 0.16
4 Lars Boom (Ned) Rabobank Continental
5 Thomas Oredsson (Den) Team GLS
6 Jos Pronk (Ned) Time - Van Hemert
7 Jos Harms (Ned) Cyclingteam Jo Piels
8 Coen Vermeltfoort (Ned) Rabobank Continental
9 Enrico Peruffo (Ita) Italian National Team
10 Thomas Berkhout (Ned) Rabobank Continental
11 Marcel Beima (Ned) Time - Van Hemert
12 Roy Curvers (Ned) Time - Van Hemert 0.22
13 Jorrit Walgien (Ned) B&E Koopmans Cycling Team 1.38
14 Sipke Zijlstra (Ned) B&E Koopmans Cycling Team
15 Michele Magni (Ita) Italian National Team

Stage 3 Hoofddorp - Heerhugowaard 174 km
The third stage was won by Jos Pronk (Time/Van Hemert). Due to this win it he broke the Rabobank hegemony. In the bunch sprint at Heerhugowaard, Pronk, a younger brother of Unibet rider Matthé Pronk, was faster than Danish track rider Michael Morkov and German Lamonta rider René Obst. Martijn Maaskant (Rabobank) remains in the lead. Then Mini Rabos had a firm grasp on the top three positions on the G.C. at this point and held 5 of the top six placements.

Result stage 3:
1 Jos Pronk (Ned) Time - Van Hemert 3.10.23
2 Michael Morkov (Den) Team GLS
3 René Obst (Ger) Team 3C - Gruppe Lamonta
4 Lieuwe Westra (Ned) Krolstone Continental Team
5 Marco Bos (Ned) Cyclingteam Jo Piels
6 Robert Bartko (Ger) German National Team
7 Martijn Maaskant (Ned) Rabobank Continental
8 Alain Van Katwijk (Ned) Van Vliet - EBH Advocaten
9 Thomas Kristiansen (Den) Team GLS
10 Paul Van Schalen (Ned) Ubbink - Syntec Cycling Team
11 Sören Hofmann (Ger) Team 3C - Gruppe Lamonta
12 Jacopo Guarnieri (Ita) Italian National Team
13 Jonas Jorgensen (Den) Team GLS
14 Nikola Aistrup (Den) Team GLS
15 Folkert De Haan (Ned) Ubbink - Syntec Cycling Team

General Classification afer stage 3
1 Maaskant, Martijn 2 Rabobank 11:24:38
2 Leezer, Tom 6 Rabobank 11:25:06 0:28
3 Boom, Lars 1 Rabobank 11:25:10 0:32
4 Pronk, Jos 111 Time - Van Hemert 11:25:16 0:38
5 Berkhout, Thomas 5 Rabobank 11:25:31 0:53
6 Vermeltfoort, Coen 8 Rabobank 11:25:47 1:09
7 van Katwijk, Alain 37 Van Vliet- EBH Advocaten 11:25:52 1:14
8 Beima, Marcel 113 Time - Van Hemert 11:25:54 1:16
9 Oredsson, Thomas 42 Team GLS - Denmark 11:26:01 1:23
10 Harms, Jos 55 Cycling Team Jo Piels 11:26:22 1:44

Rabobank - Top team after the 2007 Olympia Tour. Photo c. Bart Hazen

Stage 4 Heerhugowaard – Heerenveen 174 km
Stage 4 was again dominated by the young guns of Rabobank. Lars Boom won his second stage. He and Maaskant attacked in the final of the stage and had a gap of 1.28 on the first chasers. 4 other riders of Rabobank finished in the chasing group. Leezer (Rabobank) won the sprint for 3rd. Maaskant remained in the lead with a small gap on his team mate Boom. The G.C. shuffled a bit but the Rabo lads were still in the top three as Tom Veelers skidded to tenth place after missing the break.

Raboriders wait for the final results on Stage 9. Photo c. Bart Hazen

Result stage 4
1 Lars Boom (Ned) Rabobank Continental 3.57.03
2 Martijn Maaskant (Ned) Rabobank Continental
3 Tom Leezer (Ned) Rabobank Continental 1.28
4 Marcel Beima (Ned) Time - Van Hemert
5 Jos Pronk (Ned) Time - Van Hemert
6 Thomas Berkhout (Ned) Rabobank Continental
7 Alain Van Katwijk (Ned) Van Vliet - EBH Advocaten
8 Sipke Zijlstra (Ned) B&E Koopmans Cycling Team 1.44
9 Coen Vermeltfoort (Ned) Rabobank Continental
10 Tom Veelers (Ned) Rabobank Continental
11 Ramunas Navardauskas (Ltu) Klaipeda - Splendid Cycling Team
12 Marco Bos (Ned) Cyclingteam Jo Piels
13 Folkert De Haan (Ned) Ubbink - Syntec Cycling Team
14 Bram Schmitz (Ned) Van Vliet - EBH Advocaten 8.39
15 Fredrik Ericsson (Swe) Time - Van Hemert 11.48

General Classification after Stage 4
1 Maaskant, Martijn 2 Rabobank 15:21:31
2 Boom, Lars 1 Rabobank 15:21:54 0:23
3 Leezer, Tom 6 Rabobank 15:23:32 2:01
4 Pronk, Jos 111 Time - Van Hemert 15:23:45 2:14
5 Berkhout, Thomas 5 Rabobank 15:24:02 2:31
6 van Katwijk, Alain 37 Van Vliet- EBH Advocaten 15:24:23 2:52
7 Beima, Marcel 113 Time - Van Hemert 15:24:25 2:54
8 Vermeltfoort, Coen 8 Rabobank 15:24:34 3:03
9 de Haan, Folkert 75 Ubbink Syntec 15:25:51 4:20
10 Bos, Marco 51 Cycling Team Jo Piels 15:26:03 4:32
11 Veelers, Tom 3 Rabobank 15:26:15 4:44
12 Navardauskas, Ramunas 68 Klaipeda - Splendid CT 15:26:22 4:51
13 Zijlstra, Sipke 81 B&E - Koopmans 15:27:13 5:42
14 Ericsson, Fredrik 115 Time - Van Hemert 15:36:27 14:56
15 Oredsson, Thomas 42 Team GLS - Denmark 15:40:22 18:51
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