€8.16 per kilometer … the prize for the winner of the Ronde van Drenthe in the Women’s World Tour today.  It’s not necessarily the toughest race on the circuit, but with cobbles and a relatively high average speed, there are plenty opportunities for things to go wrong if you’re not careful.  The winners over the last decade have all been top-class: 2007 was Adrie Visser, Chantal Beltman in 2008 and Emma Johansson in 2009. Loes Gunnewijk preceded a Marianne Vos hat-trick up to 2013. Lizzie Armitstead won in 2014, and Jolien d’Hoore last year.

Out of Stuifzandseweg in Hoogeveen, and east towards Emmen, and turning north then back west, there are two cobblestone sprints at Borger-Odoorn at 68.2 and 77.2 kms. The route is steamrollered flat except for three trips up the spiky, man-made VAMberg, a junk mountain of up to 23% gradients. The fastest ladies so far (according to Strava, at least) are Lucinda Brand from Rabo-Liv and Wiggle-High5’s Audrey Cordon-Ragot, who both clocked 50 seconds in last year’s race.

As usual, the ‘Galacticos’ all bring potential-winner-laden squads: Rabo-Liv have Anna van der Breggen and Lucinda Brand (Vos returns at the Drentse 8 tomorrow); Wiggle have Johansson, d’Hoore, Giorgia Bronzini, Elisa Longo Borghini, Chloe Hosking and Amy Pieters (!); Canyon-SRAM bring Brennauer, Worrack and Cromwell; Liv-Plantur have Kirchmann and MacKaij.

Boels-Dolmans – like Wiggle – have all six riders capable of winning: Armitstead, Van Dijk, Blaak, Guarnier, Majerus and Kasper. Add in all the fast finishers like Shelley Olds (Cylance), Coryn Rivera (UHC) and Marta Bastianelli from Ale Cipollini and it’s anyone’s guess.