Daria Pikulik of Human Powered Health won the second edition of the Konvert Koerse cycling race in Kortrijk. The race covered a distance of 126.2 kilometres, and Pikulik came out on top in a mass sprint. Julie De Wilde finished second, with Valentine Fortin from France taking third place. Kathrin Schweinberger was fourth and Marthe Truyen came in fifth.
The race started more than 15 minutes late due to parked cars on the course and was further delayed by branches on the route. The official start was given at 2:35 pm, but a technical error led to the air cannon shot being fired 30 seconds later.
Initially, three riders attempted a breakaway, but it was short-lived. Sanne Cant then accelerated and led the remaining 95 kilometres on her own, but only had a lead of a minute and a half. When the six local laps of 9 kilometres each started, she was just 35 seconds ahead. Anastasia Carbonari from Italy tried to bridge the gap, but with three laps to go, the peloton caught up. Dutch rider Sofie van Rooijen attempted a solo breakaway in the final lap, but a group sprint was inevitable.
Julie De Wilde, who had a successful World Championships in Glasgow with a bronze in the U23 time trial and a 4th place in the U23 road race, was a strong contender. Her teammate, Sanne Cant (2nd at GP Yvonne Reynders earlier in the week), had initiated a long solo breakaway that ended three laps from the finish. The race seemed set for another bunch sprint and a possible victory for De Wilde. However, 20-year-old Fenix-Deceuninck rider De Wilde couldn’t keep up, and Daria Pikulik proved too fast for her, securing Pikulik’s third victory of the season.
“That was a perfect job and a really good day for us. The team put me in such a good position with a perfect lead-out so all I had to was just finish the job for them. I was a little in shock after the finish because I have just come here from Worlds in Glasgow. My shape is really good right now so I’m looking forward to the next days of racing,”
Daria Pikulik
2023 Konvert Kortrijk Koerse result
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