New European U23 Champion Ilse Pluimers: "Three kilometers from the end I thought, it's all or nothing"

Ilse Pluimers has become European champion for the second time after she already became European champion among the juniors in Alkmaar in 2019, and was able to repeat the same trick four years later among the U23s, where she was the strongest on the VAM-berg in Drenthe.

That's what the Dutch rider wished in the flash interview after her won race. "It's really great. And in my own country it is the best, because my whole family is there too. A European Championship in your own country is apparently a good experience. That's really fantastic."

After 108 kilometers of racing on the roads of Drenthe, Pluimers was the first to cross the line. "It was a quiet race in the beginning with a lot of waiting, because everyone knew it would be a tough race. When Zoe Backstedt attacked, Maike was able to join in very well. And when she had to let go, we closed the gap. Then the attacks started and I was on the right side."

That was not enough for Pluimers: she decided to attack again. "I then started attacking again, because I thought I couldn't win. Then Anna came along and I thought 'Oh shit, she's a climber'. I stayed in her wheel and at the end I was able to finish it."

"I felt really strong today, but I had already done a lot of work for the team. Three kilometers from the end I thought, it's all or nothing... That's what my brother said, that I had to make an attack like that and it finally worked," she concluded.