Eerste Europese overwinning voor Charlie Hough in Herderen

Charlie Hough verblijft met de Amerikaans ploeg in Nederland maar steekt regelmatig de grens over om in ons land wedstrijden te komen rijden. Charlie kwam woensdag met 5 andere renners naar het Limburgse Herderen. Hij en zijn ploegmaten veroverden het volledige podium.

"We came to the Herderen-Riemst Kermesse with a group of 6 from the US National Team.  The course was very hilly, and I knew it suited us well.  The racing started out aggressive with a few moves, but everything came back together.  With about 40 kilometers to go, I attacked and 5 riders bridged across to me. We worked well together for about 5 laps and then another group of 10 riders came across to our group.  We now had 4 teammates in the front group.  There were a few attacks but nothing stuck.  With two laps to go, a Belgium rider attacked hard up the final climb, and I went with him.  Unfortunately, he crashed in a turn and it left me by myself. I got caught by the group half a lap later.  On the final time up the climb, I attacked hard and nobody came with me. My gap grew to 20 seconds, and I held it to take the victory! My teammates, Diego Binatena and Seth Veenbaas, finished 2nd and 3rd.  It feels great to get my first win in Europe, but I couldn't have done it without the team and great support.  I would like to thank USA Cycling for the great opportunity to race over here in Europe, and to all my sponsors from the Hincapie Development Team.": vertelt de winnaar aan onze redactie.