Baloise Ladies Tour 2024 Race Preview

Mathew Mitchell

Published on July 15, 2024
in Women's Cycling

Baloise Ladies Tour 2024 History

The 2024 Baloise Ladies Tour is set for another strong edition, drawing as always, top talent from around the world. In the recent past, the Baloise Ladies Tour has crowned champions who have left an indelible mark on the race. Lisa Klein, who triumphed in 2021, used her ability in the time trial to get a GC lead and then back it up with consistent results. Ellen van Dijk, the 2022 winner, had a similar route to victory as well. Using the time trial to get a gap in GC that couldn’t be beaten. Last year’s race was dominated by Charlotte Kool to begin with, with 4 stage wins in a row, but after she left post-time trial, the dial had swung to Lucinda Brand who was fastest against the clock. She held on for the final day which saw Jelena Erica take the win in Deinze.

Table of Contents

The history of the Baloise Ladies Tour is marked by thrilling and closely contested races. The organisers have meticulously designed courses that challenge all types of riders, from sprinters to classics riders and time trialists, ensuring a dynamic and unpredictable race until the final day. This year’s route is no exception, starting with a prologue that immediately tests the riders’ time-trialling skills and creates GC gaps. The subsequent stages feature a mix of flat sprints, rolling hills, and technical sections, ensuring that the riders need to be at their tactical best.

The time trial on the penultimate stage is traditionally a decisive one in the Baloise Ladies Tour and, will once again be crucial. It is often in this stage that the race sees significant shifts in the overall standings, with strong time-trialists making their mark and turning the GC on its head.

Previous Winners

2023
Lucinda Brand
2022
Ellen van Dijk
2021
Lisa Klein

Baloise Ladies Tour 2024 Stage Profiles

Prologue

Stage 1

Stage 2

Stage 3

Stage 4 (TT)

Stage 5

TV Coverage

Wednesday 17th July – Sunday 21st 2024

Live on Pickx

Prologue: 19:00-20:30
Stage 1: 14:15-16:00
Stage 2: 14:45-16:30
Stage 3: 11:15-12:30
Stage 4: 18:00-19:45
Stage 5: 14:30-16:00

All times in BST

Twitter: #BaloiseLT or #BaloiseLT24

Startlist: FirstCycling

Baloise Ladies Tour 2024 Contenders

The big favourite to go home with the bulk of the stage wins here is Lorena Wiebes. The Dutch sprinter has been in fine form all season proving to be almost impossible to beat once again after a relatively mixed 2023 in sprint finishes by her standards. She will be a contender in the prologue and probably won’t lose that much time in the time trial either. That makes her a decent GC threat, especially with the bonus seconds from all the sprints she will win.

Lidl-Trek will be particularly aiming for the time trial stages here. Brodie Chapman is in such good form against the clock that I think she can win the GC thanks to Stage 4. She can keep out of trouble on the rest of the stages and be wise enough to be on the right side of any splits. In terms of going up against the clock, another Aussie Felicity Wilson-Haffenden could also feature. She’s not had a particularly smooth transition to the Elite ranks this year, struggling in road races but with a decent TT here should be able to put in a good time. Another young gun is Fleur Moors who is starting to come good already at the age of 18 years old. 5th on the opening stage of Itzulia was a nice eye-opener and she’s carried that on with top-10s in a pair of Dwars Door one-day races in early June, the Flanders Diamond Tour and both Belgian nat champs races. She won’t be beating Wiebes but could carve out an increasing role on the team here. Ilaria Sanguineti won’t have Elisa Balsamo to patrol for, so could get a sprint or two for herself like the old days or she will be a lead-out for Moors instead.
Turns out Elisa Balsamo will be riding, so Sanguineti will very much be her leadout and Moors will get fewer opportunities! Balsamo is still coming back from the time off after her serious crash in Burgos and whilst she was 3rd on the first sprint stage found the rest of the racing hard going in the heat before leaving the race. In her current form she can beat most of the field but it’s tough to see a win over Wiebes.

Team dsm-firmenich PostNL will be looking to recreate the 4 stage wins in a row that Charlotte Kool took here last season before leaving the race early. She will have stiffer competition but with mostly flat stages, there should be little to tire the legs before fast finishes. Kool hasn’t beaten Wiebes so far in 2024 but there will be opportunities here. Last year she won the prologue stage, which feels tough to repeat but is a possibility. Teammate Pfeiffer Georgi might be the overall GC threat thanks to her skills against the clock, maybe not so much in the short prologue but more in the longer TT on Stage 4. That makes her a possible podium finisher.
Also of note, is that Silje Bader is down to rider for the team. Despite not being listed on the UCI site as their rider yet and it being too early to be a staigiare. The move is no shock though, it’s been a done deal since the spring.

Human Powered Health could do very well here with a dual threat for sprints and the GC. Polish rider Daria Pikulik has been knocking on the door of joining the top tier of sprinters and whilst she probably won’t beat Wiebes should be up there in the podium spots at the Baloise Ladies Tour. Her last race was a win at the Argenta Classic so she will be high on confidence. The GC threat comes from Audrey Cordon-Ragot who will be looking to tune up against the clock before a home Olympics coming up. She won the French Nats in the time trial and will be looking to push Chapman close here. She has a chance for the win and probably should end up on the podium.

Thalita de Jong was particularly unlucky in last year’s race. Consistently up there on all the stages and 4th in the time trial, the one blemish was a 105th finish caused by a crash just outside of the 3km to-go limit. She lost time there which couldn’t be recovered, otherwise she could’ve been on the podium. She’s in even better form this season and has done everything except win pretty much. She now has 5 2nd placed finishes in 2024. Teammates Wilma Aintila and Fauve Bastiaenssen will probably be in a supportive role but can also do a decent sprint and young rider Alberte Greve will be one to watch out for in the prologue with her pursuit background on the track.

VolkerWessels will be backing Sofie van Rooijen in the sprints here with the Dutch rider capable of going up against the best this year. She might struggle to beat the likes of Kool, Pikulik and Wiebes but she should carve out a set of results that confirm she’s the best of the rest here. With the stages being almost flat, that will help her out after a tough Thüringen Ladies Tour which saw her get only a pair of top-10s. Scarlett Souren will also be in the mix and is going very well at the moment. She was 2nd in GC at the Tour de Pologne, taking her first UCI win there on the final stage and doing a good job in finishing 4th in the TT there. She backed that up with 2nd at the Argenta Classic behind Pikulik and could emerge as an alternative to Van Rooijen on some stages.

The new Swiss national champion, Noemi Rüegg is having some good highs this season. She won in Spain way back at the start of the year and backed that up with more results over there in May with 8th at Durango-Durango and 6th in GC at the Vuelta a Burgos thanks to a great all-round performance. She’s not quite the pure sprinter needed for these stages but should be in the hunt maybe for the overall. Alison Jackson could be an attacking option for EF-Oatly-Cannondale as well. It’s how she won her Vuelta stage this year and in any small group, she would be one to watch in a sprint too. Meanwhile, the team should be backing Lotta Henttala for the purer sprinter stages. She was 5th at Dwars door de Westhoek, won that stage of the Vuelta a Burgos with the infamous crash and certainly has a good upside.

Flora Perkins is going very well at the moment. 3rd at the Argenta Classic a week or two ago, she had a consistent time in Germany, finishing in and around the top-10 over the 6 stages. She was 4th in the Great Britain nat champs, mixing it with more experienced riders at the finish there. She was also 5th and 7th on the final days of the Tour of Britain Women and is just inching closer to a possible first win. She’s decent against the clock too and whilst maybe not the best here it could put her in the top-10 on GC. Fien Van Eynde will be high in spirits after taking her first UCI win this weekend at the Grote Prijs CHW Beveren. Potentially in support of Perkins here, Van Eynde has shown she might be worth backing on a couple of the flat sprints.

Lifeplus-Wahoo has a number of options that can sprint in Belgium this week. Kristyna Burlova is back in form with a few top-10s recently. She was 9th on the final day in London on the RideLondon Classique and then 6th at the Argenta Classic which was a very much flat affair. Kaja Rysz is also doing well with 8th at the Argenta Classic leading out Burlova and finished 3rd on the final day of her home race at the Tour de Pologne. Babette van der Wolf has the potential to be the fastest and was 3rd at the Antwerp Port Epic in mid-May before suffering an early exit at the Tour of Britain. Alicia Gonzalez is stepping up after a consistent RideLondon Classique saw her finish 14th in GC there before 5th at the Argenta Classic and 8th in the Grote Prijs CHW Beveren this weekend. Between them, they can see who has the best legs and back that rider for a strong finish.

I’m expecting to see Stina Kagevi of Coop-Repsol be strong in the time trial, which should boost her up the rankings. She might also go strong in the prologue and she’s coming off victories in her last 2 races against the clock in Portugal and Poland. The opposition is stronger here but it should help put her in the GC mix. She should get support from Camilla Rånes Bye who might also fancy a sprint with such a flat parcours here. The likes of Sigrid Ytterhus Haugset and Tour of Estonia winner Eline van Rooijen, also can’t be ruled out for a fast finish.

Sara Fiorin has been having a strong season away from the WWT on the UAE Development team. The Italian has scored numerous top-10 finishes and ticked off her 2nd win of the season at the end of May at the Omloop der Kempen. A surprisingly quiet Tour de Pologne saw her barely register there but on flat stages, she should be knocking around the bottom end of the top 10.

Baloise Ladies Tour 2024 Outsiders

Jesse Vandenbulcke took 5th at the Grote Prijs CHW Beveren at the weekend and has a string of decent finishes in smaller Belgian races all season really. The Belgian took a step back from the Women’s WorldTour and seems to be happier being able to go for her own results on a much smaller team again.

Mara Roldan had fun in the Volta a Portugal Feminina, taking her first non-Nat Champs victory on the 2nd stage with a late break to the finish. The young Canadian is the U23 TT champion there but has been a bit up and down with some of the TTs elsewhere this season. There’s a way in which can can make the top-10 on GC if she avoids time losses and has a great ride against the clock.

There are a couple of young options for the AG Insurance-NXTG team with Laura Lizette Sander a possible option for sprints and Febe Jooris able to do well in the time trials. Sander had a good national champ in Estonia and also took a podium at the Tour of Estonia on home roads. She’s picked up top-10s elsewhere like the GP Eco-Struct and Gracia Orlova this season. Febe Jooris is the Belgian U23 time trial champion, which bodes well for her to pick up time and maybe challenge the top-10 in GC here. She’s also done well on flat finishes this year, not enough to challenge for a win here but should keep her out of trouble.

Jony van den Eijnden looks to be the next impressive rider to come out of WV Schijndel, so much so that I’m expecting the natural pattern of events to unfold and hear that VolkerWessels will sign her for 2025. She’s picked up top-10s across the smaller Belgian one-day races, including 9th at GP Eco-Struct and Grote Prijs CHW Beveren.

For the Liv-AlUla-Jayco Continental Team, the Brit Emma Jeffers might get herself in the hunt in the sprints. She won 2 stages of the Gracia Orlova this year and became the Great Britain national criterium champion a few weeks ago. Still young, she gets overpowered slightly against the bigger names but is developing well. Teammate Georgie Howe might also be in with a shout in the time trials here with the Aussie ‘racing down’ with the Conti team rather than the usual WWT outfit.