Nancy van der Ven of the No Fear Yamaha team finished second overall at the second round of the 2019 Women’s World Championship series at Agueda, Portugal. This was by a dint of third – and second place finishes in the races respectively.
Van der Ven posted the fastest time in the first free training session on Saturday, and eventually qualified third. In the first race, she got off the gate in third position, and through battling initially to find her rhythm, she found herself a bit back from the leading pair. Later in the race, she managed to close the gap on the second-placed rider, but could not get close enough to challenge for the pass.
Van der Ven charged to a holeshot in race two, and for a while kept Courtney Duncan behind her. The New Zealander found a way through eventually, and Van der Ven subsequently kept her head cool and raced to second position, which also yielded her the overall runner-up spot.
“Things went well initially for me on Saturday, but every time I come under pressure I develop a mental block,” she said. “I had a holeshot in the second race, but Courtney was faster than me on this track, and I decided to ride my own race, which worked out well. We have a nine week break now, and I will be training hard to remain top fit and work more on skills development.”
Van der Ven is second in the world championship standings, with a four point deficit on Duncan. The series continues on 27 and 28 Julyat Loket, Czech Republic.
Overall WMX Dames Portugal:
1 Courtney Duncan 50 Pnt
2 Nancy van de Ven 42 Pnt
3 Larissa Papenmeijer 42 Pnt
4 Sara Andersen 34 Pnt
5 Lynn Valk 34 Pnt
World Championship Standings:
1 Courtney Duncan 89 Pnt
2 Nancy van de Ven 85 Pnt
3 Larissa Papenmeijer 82 Pnt
4 Amandine Verstappen 67 Pnt
5 Lynn Valk 63 Pnt
