The peloton rolled out under dry skies with most teams focused on controlling the 2025 edition of the Ronde de Mouscron for their sprinters. With no major climbs and just a few short rises across the farmland of the Flanders-Wallonia border, the route offered little to break things up naturally. What did shape the outcome, however, was a combination of narrow roads, aggressive positioning battles, and crashes that left just 40 riders contesting the final sprint.
The first half of the race featured a handful of attempts to break away, though most were quickly shut down by teams determined to deliver a sprint. The most notable move came just after the halfway point when Liv Wenzel of Hess Cycling Team attacked solo. The 21-year-old rode clear and held a small gap as the bunch hesitated briefly, but her move never looked like derailing the inevitable.
She was reeled in with just over 20 kilometres to go, at which point the big teams began to fully commit. Uno-X Mobility, Fenix-Deceuninck and Ceratizit-WNT all brought numbers to the front. Riders like Amalie Dideriksen, Marjolein van ’t Geloof and Christina Schweinberger were kept well-positioned as the bunch threaded through a technical section of farmland lanes heading into Mouscron.
Photo Credit: UAE Team ADQCrashes disrupt the run-in
Any plans for a textbook lead-out were thrown off with around eight kilometres remaining when a crash on a narrow stretch took down several riders, including Lucinda Stewart of Liv-AlUla-Jayco Continental. The disruption caused splits and hesitation in the bunch, and only around 40 riders remained in the lead group as they approached the final.
From there, the dynamic changed. Uno-X Mobility briefly regained control, but were outmanoeuvred in the last kilometre as Fenix-Deceuninck and Ceratizit-WNT surged forward. Despite that, Susanne Andersen found herself in a prime position.
She opened her sprint early on the slightly uphill finishing straight and was able to use the road’s final curve to her advantage, forcing others to take a longer line around her. Marthe Truyen responded late and was rapidly closing in, but ran out of road.
“I’m happy to be on the podium,” Truyen said afterwards. “But I’m also disappointed not to have won. In the last metres I just missed a bit of punch.”
Sarah van Dam claimed third—her best result in a European UCI race—after staying upright through the chaos and reading the sprint well.
First international win for Andersen
For Andersen, this was a long time coming. The Norwegian national champion in 2023, she has been a consistent finisher over the years, but has never won a race of this status. Often deployed in a support role or caught behind stronger lead-out trains, this time the finish opened up perfectly, and she seized the opportunity.
Sofie van Rooijen was the best-placed Dutch rider in 10th, just ahead of a group that included Mylène de Zoete and Dideriksen. With the peloton fractured by late incidents, the order was reshuffled in the closing minutes, rewarding those who stayed upright and alert.
Mouscron may not be the biggest race on the calendar, but this year’s edition proved again that sprint days are rarely simple, and winning them requires more than just speed.
2025 Ronde de Mouscron result
Results powered by FirstCycling.com
Main photo credit: Uno-X Mobility
