Pooley wins Grand Boucle Feminine
- By VeloNews.com
- Published Jun. 21, 2009
- Updated Jun. 22, 2009 at 4:43 AM EDT
British climber Emma Pooley (Cervélo TestTeam) wrapped up the Grande Boucle Feminine Internationale after fending off a last-gasp bid by archrival Marianne Vos (DSB Bank) in Sunday’s finale.
The Dutch rider Vos won Sunday’s hilly final stage into Anglet, but Pooley was able to mark the moves and finished fourth in a five-up sprint to secure the overall prize of the so-called “women’s Tour de France.”
Despite the victory and a 10-second time bonus, Vos couldn’t overcome Pooley.
“I’m very happy,” Pooley said. “It was a hard day, probably the hardest stage of the race because the team had to work to defend the yellow jersey. The girls – Pascale, Kirsten and Sarah did great work from the start of the race and Christiane and Regina stayed with me on the climbs. When we ended up with three girls in a break of five we knew that the race was saved.”
Pooley’s win gave Cervélo TestTeam one-two in the overall, with defending champion Christiane Soeder slotting into second at 22 seconds back. Vos settled for third at 34 seconds off the pace.
It was a big week for the top-ranked Cervélo team. In addition to first and second, the team won three stages, the green points jersey and the team classification.
“The Grande Boucle is a really special race with a big history and I’m very happy to win it. Christiane and Regina were also really strong and could have won this race, but I am really happy with their support and really proud to be member of this team,” Pooley said. “My next goal will be the National Championships next weekend and after that the Giro d’Italia. I am looking forward to it.”