Karen Brouwer managed to outperform her third place of 2015 by finishing second behind Hielke Elferink at the National Championships marathon over 108 kilometers. It looked bad this week as Brouwer got ill but despite she did not yet feel very good she had a strong day on the bike and managed to follow later winner Hielke Elferink for a long time.
“Early in the race I came in the lead with Hielke Elferink and Pauliena Rooijakkers. After the first feed zone Rooijakkers lost contact with us and we took a comfortable lead. Luckily I could keep a good pace after Elferink left me behind so I could keep my second place. Very happy with this silver medal.’, stated Brouwer.
In the men’s race KMC-Fruit to Go bikers Ramses Bekkenk, Bram Rood and Gerben Mos could not battle for a podium finish and had to sprint for 5th place. They finished 7th, 9th and 10th behind winner Jasper Ockeloen.