Lieuwe Westra

Lieuwe Westra (11 September 1982 – 14 January 2023) was a Dutch professional racing cyclist who rode professionally between 2006 and 2016 for the KrolStonE Continental Team, Vacansoleil–DCM and Astana teams.

Lieuwe Westra
Westra at the 2011 Critérium du Dauphiné
Personal information
Full nameLieuwe Westra
NicknameIt Beest[1]
Born(1982-09-11)11 September 1982
Mûnein, Netherlands
Died14 January 2023(2023-01-14) (aged 40)
Medemblik, Netherlands
Height1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)
Weight74 kg (163 lb)
Team information
DisciplineRoad
RoleRider
Rider typeTime trialist
Professional teams
2006–2008KrolStonE Continental Team
2009–2013Vacansoleil
2014–2016Astana
Major wins
Stage races
Danmark Rundt (2012)
Three Days of De Panne (2016)

Single-day races and Classics

National Time Trial Championships (2012, 2013)

Life and career

Born in Mûnein,[2] Westra finished second at the 2012 Paris–Nice, a UCI World Tour race; he also won the queen stage to Mende. This particular stage finished atop the Côte de la Croix-Neuve–Montée Laurent Jalabert – a 3 km (1.9 mi) climb at an average gradient of 10.1%.[3] He attacked inside the final kilometer and the lead group piloted by race leader Bradley Wiggins could not reel him in. He freewheeled over the finishing line, sparking speculation that he could have put on the leader's jersey had he pursued his effort, since the win put him 6 seconds in arrears of Wiggins.[4] He would finish Paris-Nice 8 seconds down on the Briton in the general classification.[5] In August, Westra won the overall classification of the 2012 Danmark Rundt, a six-stage race held in Denmark. He won the event's individual time trial, helping him seal the victory as it netted him the leader's jersey, which he would not relinquish. Ramūnas Navardauskas of the Garmin–Barracuda squad finished second with a deficit of 10 seconds.[6] Westra earned his first victory of the 2013 season at the Tour of California, where he foiled the sprinters' plans by breaking away with 5 km (3.1 mi) and managed to resist to the lead group. Francisco Mancebo joined him in his bid for victory, the pair cooperated and Westra won the two-man sprint.[7]

After five years with the Vacansoleil–DCM team,[8] Westra joined Astana on a two-year contract, for the 2014 and 2015 seasons.[9]

On Sunday 8 January 2017, Westra announced his retirement via his Facebook page. He wrote "Today I have decided to stop racing. I cannot afford to continue. Thanks to A Boskamp and K Snijder! Ok I stop but go now and I have time to solve these issues briefly Thanks to cycling world ciaoooo westra".[10] This post was subsequently deleted, however the next day the retirement was confirmed via the Twitter account for the Wanty–Groupe Gobert team.[11]

Westra died on 14 January 2023, at the age of 40.[12][13]

Career achievements

Major results
2007
4th Overall OZ Wielerweekend
1st Stage 2 (ITT)
2008
1st Stage 2 Tour Alsace
2nd Overall Olympia's Tour
3rd Duo Normand (with Jos Pronk)
3rd Schaal Sels-Merksem
4th Omloop der Kempen
5th Hel van het Mergelland
6th Overall Tour du Loir-et-Cher
6th Ronde van Overijssel
9th Grote Prijs Jef Scherens
2009
1st Overall Tour de Picardie
1st Stage 1
1st Arno Wallaard Memorial
6th Ronde van het Groene Hart
2010
3rd Time trial, National Road Championships
3rd Chrono des Nations
4th Duo Normand (with Jens Mouris)
5th Overall Three Days of De Panne
7th Profronde van Fryslan
2011
1st Classic Loire Atlantique
1st Prologue Tour of Belgium
2nd Overall Three Days of De Panne
1st Mountains classification
3rd Overall Volta ao Algarve
8th Time trial, UCI Road World Championships
8th Chrono des Nations
2012
1st Time trial, National Road Championships
1st Overall Danmark Rundt
1st Stage 5 (ITT)
2nd Overall Paris–Nice
1st Stage 5
2nd Overall Three Days of De Panne
2nd Overall Tour of Belgium
2013
1st Time trial, National Road Championships
1st Stage 1 Tour of California
3rd Overall Volta ao Algarve
5th Overall Three Days of De Panne
8th Overall Étoile de Bessèges
8th Overall Paris–Nice
2014
1st Stage 7 Volta a Catalunya
1st Stage 7 Critérium du Dauphiné
Combativity award Stage 5 Tour de France
2016
1st Overall Three Days of De Panne

Grand Tour general classification results timeline
Grand Tour 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015
A pink jersey Giro d'Italia Did not contest during his career
A yellow jersey Tour de France — — 128 DNF DNF 79 77
A red jersey Vuelta a España 87 — — — DNF — —
Legend
— Did not compete
DNF Did not finish

See also

References
  1. "Hardrijder op A32 is Lieuwe Westra".
  2. Lieuwe Westra at Cycling Archives
  3. "Drama to the last for Paris-Nice". Cycling News. Future Publishing Limited. 2 February 2012. Retrieved 9 March 2012.
  4. Daniel Benson (8 March 2012). "Westra prevails on Mende mountain finish". Cycling News. Future Publishing Limited. Retrieved 17 December 2012.
  5. "2012 Paris-Nice results". Velo News. 2012 Competitor Group, Inc. 10 March 2012. Retrieved 17 December 2012.
  6. "Cavendish wins final stage at Tour of Denmark". Cycling News. Future Publishing Limited. 26 August 2012. Retrieved 17 December 2012.
  7. Kyle Moore (12 May 2013). "Tour of California: Westra foils the bunch sprint with stage one attack". VeloNation. VeloNation LLC. Retrieved 12 May 2013.
  8. "Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team (VCD) – NED". UCI World Tour. Union Cycliste Internationale. Retrieved 16 January 2013.
  9. "New riders at Astana Pro Team". Astana. Abacanto SA. 1 August 2013. Archived from the original on 6 August 2013. Retrieved 1 August 2013.
  10. "Article from cyclingnews.com – Westra's retirement announcement sparks confusion and concern". Cyclingnews.com. 9 January 2017. Retrieved 10 January 2017.
  11. "Tweet confirming Westra's retirement". Retrieved 10 January 2017.
  12. "Ald-hurdfytser Lieuwe Westra (40 jier) ferstoarn". www.omropfryslan.nl (in Western Frisian). 15 January 2023. Retrieved 15 January 2023.
  13. "Oud-wielrenner Westra (40) overleden". NOS (in Dutch). 15 January 2023. Retrieved 15 January 2023.
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