World champion Balsamo cheers in Gent-Wevelgem

After placing second in the past two editions, Belgian champion Lotte Kopecky now just missed the podium. One attack followed another from the start.

The Dutch Anne van Rooijen and the Russian Gulnaz Khatuntseva joined forces in the initial kilometers and drove further and further away from the large group. In the run-up to the passage at De Moeren, the pace in the peloton increased sharply. Jumbo-Visma wanted to start very well positioned on that polder plain, but the wind was missing at De Moeren, so that the pace in the peloton stopped again.

The lead of the two Anne van Rooijen and Gulnaz Khatuntseva therefore increased to 2 minutes. Halfway through the race there was a crash in the peloton. With 65 kilometers to go, the two early escapees were worth it. Lotte Kopecky accelerated in the run-up to the Baneberg. She was supported by Katarzyma Niewiadoma, Anna Henderson, Marta Lach and Liane Lippert. They went up the Kemmelberg for the first time, but were caught again after that hump. Chantal van den Broek-Blaak went to shake the tree again on the Baneberg. Julie De Wilde countered. The second ascent of the Kemmelberg ensured that the peloton was further thinned out. A group of about 40 riders then set course for Wevelgem.

Several riders tried to avoid a sprint with that company. Grace Brown moused away at 4 kilometers from the finish. The 29-year-old Australian was called to order again with one and a half kilometers from the finish. Marlen Reusser took Lotte Kopecky in tow in the final kilometer. The Belgian champion came out 200 meters from the finish, but was quickly reassembled by world champion Balsamo. It recorded its fourth win of the season and third in a row. On Thursday she was already the best in the Classic Brugge-De Panne.