Ellen van Dijk capped off her 20-year career with a victory at the Chrono des Nations, her final race with Lidl-Trek before retiring from professional racing.
"A fairytale ending,” Lidl-Trek posted on social media, “winning her final race at #ChronoDesNations”
The three-time World Time Trial Champion (2013, 2021, 2022) celebrated the 71st victory of her illustrious career, which also included five European titles and a solo triumph at the Tour of Flanders. The 38-year-old Dutch rider won 42 time trials and is a former Hour Record holder.
Van Dijk acknowledged that fears about racing in today’s peloton, particularly after enduring numerous crashes and injuries, contributed to her decision to retire.
The final rider to take the course, Van Dijk, covered the undulating 26.7km course in Les Herbiers with a winning time of 35:57.
She beat Alessia Vigilia (FDJ-Suez) by one second and Austrian time trial champion Christina Schweinberger (Fenix-Deceuninck) by 11 seconds. Anneke Dijkstra (VolkerWessels) missed the podium by one second and took fourth place.
Results
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