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.

Life and career

Born in Mûnein, 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%. 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. He would finish Paris-Nice 8 seconds down on the Briton in the general classification. 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. 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.

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