2014 Boels Dolmans Cycling Team season
| 2014 Boels Dolmans Cycling Team | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Manager | Erwin Janssen |
| Season victories | |
| One-day races | 5 |
| Stage race overall | 0 |
| Stage race stages | 3 |
| Best ranked rider | Lizzie Armitstead (3rd) |
Jersey
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The 2014 women's road cycling season was the fifth for the Boels Dolmans Cycling Team, which began as the Dolmans Landscaping Team in 2010. The main new rider for the team was the Time Trial World Champion Ellen van Dijk, after have ridden 5 years for Specialized–lululemon. After winning the Omloop van het Hageland in early March, Lizzie Armitstead won also the first World Cup race, the Ronde van Drenthe. She would finish later three times in second place in the later World Cup races and keeping the lead in the overall World Cup classification. In begin April, after a solo of 30 km Ellen van Dijk won the Tour of Flanders World Cup race.
The main new rider for the team was Ellen van Dijk. The Dutch world time trial champion who finished third in the UCI world Ranking and third in the overall World Cup signed a three years contract for Boels–Dolmans after have ridden 5 years for Specialized–lululemon.
The team started the season with the Ladies Tour of Qatar in February. Lizzie Armitstead finished in fifth place in stage 1 and finished second in stage 3.
In the first classic race of the season, the Omloop het Nieuwsblad, Armitstead was part of the front group of three riders, who made it to the finish together. She lost the sprint and finished third. A few days later, Ellen van Dijk finished fourth in the 2014 Le Samyn des Dames. The first victory for the team was at the Omloop van het Hageland. Armitstead had broken clear with Emma Johansson (Orica-AIS) and edged her out in a two-way sprint. It was her first victory since winning the British national title in June 2013 and her first win at an international race since a previous triumph at Omloop van het Hageland in March 2012. On 13 March Armitstead finished third at the Drentse 8 van Dwingeloo. Two days later was the first world cup race of the season, the Ronde van Drenthe. With 16 km to go, after riding the VAM mountain for the last time, Van der Breggen (Rabobank/liv) got an advantage of over 1' 30" on the chasing group. Ellen van Dijk closed about the whole gap and launched Armitstead who rode to Van der Breggen. Armitstead outsprinted Van der Breggen in the final and won the race. Armitstead said after the race that it was her best achievement after winning silver at the 2012 Summer Olympics and thanked Van Dijk for chasing down Van der Breggen. At the end of the month, on 30 March, was the second World Cup race, the Italian Trofedo Alfredo Binda. Both Ellen van Dijk and Lizzie Armitstead where part of the front group. Van Dijk was the lead out for Armistead in the sprint who finished second behind Johansson. Van Dijk finished eighth. On the same day was Gent–Wevelgem where Janneke Ensing finished second.
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