Marijn van den Berg wins the Trofeo ses Salines-Port d’Alcudia

Dutchman outsmarts his rivals in Mallorca

Plomi Foto

The EF Education-EasyPost rider attacked into the final corner and left his rivals gasping, as he held his speed across the line and celebrated his first ever professional win. Afterwards, Marijn thanked his teammates for the work they did to set him up for the wet and tricky finale.

“I stayed with the first group and then we had a perfect lead out with Neilson and Owain and Julius,” Marijn said. “They did a great job. I just had to finish it so it was good. It’s the first win of my career with the pros. Hopefully there are more to come.”

This victory proved the second-year pro’s resilience, daring, and skill.

1 VAN DEN BERG Marijn NED EF EDUCATION-EASYPOST 03:37:31
2 VERNON Ethan GBR SOUDAL QUICK-STEP 00:00
3 GIRMAY Biniam ERI INTERMARCHÉ-CIRCUS-WANTY 00:00
4 ZINGLE Axel FRA COFIDIS 00:00
5 SOTO Antonio ESP EUSKALTEL-EUSKADI 00:00
6 KANTER Max GER MOVISTAR TEAM 00:00
7 CANAL Carlos ESP EUSKALTEL-EUSKADI 00:00
8 OLIVEIRA Rui POR UAE TEAM EMIRATES 00:00
9 TEUNISSEN Mike NED INTERMARCHÉ-CIRCUS-WANTY 00:00
10 KONRAD Patrick AUT BORA-HANSGROHE 00:00

It was another cold wet day in Mallorca. The second of the Spanish island’s early-season races, the Trofeo Port d’Alcúdia, looped around the rugged northeast corner of the island, crossing the second-category Coll sa Batalla and then the Coll Femenia, before the swooping return to the beachside town of Port d’Alcúdia and the finish-line. Marijn had to get over the mountains with the front group before he could let loose in the rainy, technical final kilometre. The plan from the start was to hit the last corner first and not look back.

That’s exactly what Marijn did. He worked his way forward through the surging group with the help of his teammates. Hugh Carthy had done a huge turn to bring back the last attacker and keep the bunch together for the sprint. Then, Neilson Powless, Owain Doull, and Julius van den Berg took over and brought Marijn to the front. Marijn launched when he saw the final turn. He knew the line was right around the bend. The others never had a chance.

“I’m not really a bunch sprinter, but this was perfect for me,” he said. “It was a hard race, small group, and then a sprint. I think that’s what my power is. I feel really good. I felt good during the training camp and during training in the last weeks. I had good legs today and to finish it is always nice.”

Congratulations Marijn!