Federica Venturelli took victory at the 2026 Dwars door de Westhoek after beating Lonneke Uneken and Marta Lach in a reduced sprint from the day’s decisive breakaway. The UAE Team ADQ rider launched out of the final sequence of moves, came past the SD Worx-Protime presence in the sprint, and threw her bike across the line with enough room to spare for her second win of the season.
Uneken finished second for VolkerWessels Cycling Team, with Lach third for SD Worx-Protime. Kathrin Schweinberger took fourth after another strong ride in the Northern European one-day block, while Anna van Wersch rounded out the top five for Lotto Intermarché Ladies.
It was not the large bunch sprint that the flat profile might have suggested. Dwars door de Westhoek had only limited obstacles, with Rosemberg and Smijterstraat the main features on an otherwise fast route, but the race was changed by a powerful move that went early enough and contained enough of the strongest teams to survive.
Strong breakaway takes control
The race around Boezinge always looked likely to favour quick finishers, especially with previous editions often decided from reduced or larger sprint groups. The presence of riders such as Shari Bossuyt, Scarlett Souren, Mischa Bredewold and Sandrine Tas pointed towards a fast finale, while SD Worx-Protime brought numbers and several options.
Instead, the decisive shape of the race came from a strong breakaway. Fourteen riders moved clear earlier in the day, and with most of the major teams represented, the peloton gradually lost the incentive and organisation needed to bring them back. That proved decisive. Once the strongest blocks had riders in front, the chasing group effectively handed the race to those already up the road.
SD Worx-Protime were particularly well represented, with Bredewold, Lisa van Belle, Femke Markus and Marta Lach in the move. VolkerWessels had Uneken and Souren, AG Insurance-Soudal had Bossuyt and Nicole Steigenga, Human Powered Health had Schweinberger and Marta Jaskulska, while Venturelli gave UAE Team ADQ a dangerous card in a group full of sprint strength.
The group entered the final circuits with 13 riders and around 30 seconds in hand with 30 kilometres still to race. That was not a huge gap, but it was enough when the quality in front was so high and the peloton had already been blunted by the team representation in the move.
Final lap attacks thin the front group
The attacks started properly with one lap to go. Schweinberger later explained that she and Jaskulska had ridden well together in the break, but the tactical situation was complicated by teams with multiple riders. Lach and Bossuyt could afford to save something for the sprint because they each had teammates in the move, while Human Powered Health had to stay active without giving away too much.
By the final lap, eight riders were still driving the pace at the head of the race: Venturelli, Uneken, Lach, Markus, Schweinberger, Bossuyt, Steigenga and Van Wersch. That group carried the winning move towards the finish, but the front was still not fully settled.
Julia Kopecký then rejoined the leaders for SD Worx-Protime, giving the team another option and another rider capable of disrupting the sprint. With 3 kilometres to go, Kopecký attacked. It was a logical move from a team with numbers, forcing others to respond before the final sprint and giving Lach and Markus a chance to avoid doing too much too early.
The move did not stay away, but it helped shape the run-in. SD Worx-Protime still had riders in the right places, while Venturelli had to judge when to launch around them rather than simply follow a clear lead-out.
Venturelli beats Uneken and Lach on the cobbles
The sprint came from the reduced front group, with SD Worx-Protime trying to use their numerical strength but unable to finish it off. Venturelli accelerated around Markus and Lach, then powered through the final metres to take the win on the cobbles of Boezinge.
Uneken came closest to denying her, but the VolkerWessels rider had to settle for second. Lach took third, a solid result from a race where SD Worx-Protime had looked well placed tactically but could not convert their advantage into victory.
Schweinberger sprinted to fourth after choosing Bossuyt’s wheel in the finale. She later said that a gap opened with around 700 metres to go, forcing her to pass and close it herself. That left her coming with speed, but too late to challenge for the podium. Van Wersch took fifth, ahead of Markus, Bossuyt, Souren, Steigenga, Kopecký and Jaskulska.
There had been disruption earlier for Human Powered Health, with Silvia Zanardi and Yurani Blanco affected by a large crash. Schweinberger was also caught up later, but was brought back by teammate Jente after Katia and Wiktoria had helped through the early phase. That made fourth place a strong salvage from a race that had briefly threatened to unravel.
Venturelli adds another important road win
For Venturelli, this was the fourth victory of her young professional career and her second win of the 2026 season after the Clasica de Almería. The 21-year-old has already built a reputation across disciplines, with track, road and cyclocross all part of her background, but this was another result that underlined her development as a road racer.
Dwars door de Westhoek may not have the hardest profile, but it is still a race where positioning, timing and tactical awareness matter. Venturelli had to make the right move, survive a breakaway packed with experienced sprinters, deal with SD Worx-Protime’s numerical advantage, and then finish the sprint under pressure.
She did all of that cleanly. Uneken was close, Lach had team strength behind her, Schweinberger was coming with speed, and Bossuyt was another obvious sprint threat from the same group. Venturelli still found the right lane, launched at the right moment, and had the power to finish it off.
The 2026 Dwars door de Westhoek did not come down to the expected bunch sprint, but it did still reward speed. The difference was that Venturelli had earned the right to sprint for the win by being in the race-defining break. Once there, she was the quickest and the clearest winner.
Dwars door de Westhoek 2026 result
Results powered by FirstCycling.com
Main photo credit: Getty
