Back in 2011, we spent a lovely spring afternoon at a women’s pro cycling race called the Grand Prix Elsy Jacobs. It was a one-day race won by the incomparable Marianne Vos. (The two runners-up are pictured below posing for the press.)
Elsy Jacobs, born in Luxembourg in 1933, won the first-ever Women’s Road World Championship at 25 years old. Since 2008, the Grand Prix Elsy Jacobs has been a prestigious race in women’s pro cycling.
A short drive from the Ville to Garnich brought us to the finish and we arrived in time to see the leaders begin the last lap of the 2011 Grand Prix Elsy Jacob.
The breakaway consisted of Judith Arndt, Marianne Vos, and Emma Johansson.
Garnich was a great host with musical accompaniment to the obligatory beer, crémant and sausages.
Anita and Hana found a quiet spot in the grass as we waited on the finish.
Marianne Vos won the final sprint among the three leaders. I have a shaky and over-exposed video, so you’re better off going to a professional account of the finish. This is Vos and Emma Johansson chatting in front of the cameras.
Anita says, “Look at how small she was in 2011!”
Here are Hana and Anita at the Grand Prix Elsy Jacobs in 2013.
In two years, the race had grown as much as Hana. It is now a three-day stage race that finished in Mamer. The weather was much worse than in 2011, but the favorite was the same: Marianne Vos, who was even more dominant in women’s cycling in 2013.
Despite the rough weather, there were plenty of fans, even four laps before the finish — and there was a tent with the obligatory beer and crémant.
Fränk Schleck appears to have taken a ride along the course, just for fun.
Although the peloton got more and more strung along the road, there was no breakaway. Could Vos win in a bunch sprint?
These ladies certainly had their pick for the winner.
Vos came around the corner in the lead and no other cyclist could catch her. She won her third Grand Prix Elsy Jacobs in a row! Again, my photos of the finish are inferior to the real sports photographers. There’s even video online!
The UCI chaperones led the top finishers to the doping control station as we headed home. Hana doesn’t have the energy that she had as a pup!
1 Comment to “Women’s Pro Cycling in Luxembourg: Grand Prix Elsy Jacobs”
10 May 2013
It seems like anytime I check on a Woman’s Road Race, Vos is the winner. I’m sad to see my girl Evie Stevens wasn’t in the mix.