Heavy rains prior to the SKS marathon gave the competitors a challenging race to ride. Although the race started off dry, halfway through the temperature dropped to 7 degrees due to more rainfall. Therefore most bikers finished chilled to the bone.
In the men’s race, Bram Rood and Ramses Bekkenk took control right after the start. A tough Peter Hermann reached the KMC-Mitsubishi-Koga riders a few times but eventually had to give in as well. Bekkenk had to deal with equipment failure, but he fought back to a respectable second place behind Rood.
For Karen Brouwer, victory came rather unexpected. “I had been wrestling with a knee-injury, after which I felt out of shape for a while. But today I got the power back so I am thrilled with this victory”, a frozen Brouwer says at the finish.