Elisa Balsamo won the 2026 Egmont Cycling Race Women in Zottegem, sprinting clear after a powerful Lidl-Trek finale set up by Lucinda Brand.
The former world champion was the strongest rider in the final kilometre, coming off Brand’s wheel and accelerating away to take a clear victory after 131.5 kilometres of racing. Hélène Hesters finished second for Liv AlUla Jayco, with Solbjørk Minke Anderson third for EF Education-Oatly.
Katja Verkerk took fourth for Minimax WB Cycling Team, with Mia Gjertsen fifth for Uno-X Mobility Women and Alison Jackson sixth for St Michel-Preference Home-Auber93. Eria Giulia Bianchi, Lonneke Uneken, Brand and Alicia Gonzalez Blanco completed the top 10.
Lidl-Trek race like the strongest team
The fourth edition of the Egmont Cycling Race Women was always likely to suit a fast finisher who could handle the Belgian roads and repeated late pressure. Balsamo arrived as the obvious favourite, but the way Lidl-Trek raced made the result feel even more convincing.
The team did not simply wait for a sprint. Lidl-Trek were active throughout the race, controlling when needed, following the dangerous moves and then using Brand as the decisive rider in the final kilometre.
That became the key difference. Balsamo had the fastest finish, but Brand ensured she did not have to fight through a messy bunch sprint alone. When the race reached the late cobbled section and the attacks began, Lidl-Trek had the strength and positioning to shape the finale exactly how they wanted.
Balsamo then finished it off with the kind of sprint that left no room for argument.
Three riders go clear early
The day’s first meaningful breakaway came when Tabea Huys, Katja Verkerk and Aileen Schweikart went clear after the start in Zottegem.
The trio gave the race its early structure, but they were never allowed enough room to threaten the outcome. The peloton kept them within reach, with the stronger teams clearly aware that the final circuits and cobbled sections could change the race later.
Verkerk would eventually still take a strong fourth place, showing that her early aggression did not come at the cost of a result. But as a breakaway, the move was brought under control before the decisive phase.
The peloton remained compact enough for the favourites to stay involved, but the repeated surges gradually increased the pressure.
A short-lived elite split
Before the fourth passage of the finish in Zottegem, a small elite group briefly opened a gap. Balsamo was in it, alongside Brand and Belgian track rider Hesters.
That was the first clear warning sign. Lidl-Trek had both their sprinter and their key support rider in the right place, while Hesters showed early that she had the legs and positioning to contest the final.
The group came back together, and for a while the race looked as if it might settle towards a bunch sprint. But the selection had shown which riders were likely to matter when the race tightened again.
Balsamo was not just being protected. She was racing in the front split, reading the danger and staying ahead of the chaos.
Williams attacks on the Lippenhovenstraat
The final passage of the cobbled Lippenhovenstraat brought the late move that threatened to disrupt the sprint. Lily Williams attacked and briefly opened a gap, trying to take advantage of the hesitation behind.
It was a good moment to go. With the finish approaching and teams preparing their sprint trains, a committed attack over the cobbles could have forced the favourites into a difficult chase.
Brand closed it down.
The Lidl-Trek rider produced a huge effort to bring Williams back for Balsamo. Then, instead of easing off, Brand used the momentum to keep driving. With Balsamo on her wheel, she accelerated again and helped create the decisive split.
Only Gjertsen was able to go with the Lidl-Trek pair at first. The rest of the peloton was put on the back foot, and the race had been shaped for Balsamo.
Brand delivers the perfect lead-out
Brand’s work in the final kilometre was decisive. She had already neutralised Williams’ attack, then pushed on with Balsamo in her slipstream, turning a potentially chaotic bunch finish into a controlled Lidl-Trek launch.
For Balsamo, it was the ideal position. She did not need to start her sprint from deep in the bunch or fight for space against multiple rivals. She could wait behind Brand, then use the final few hundred metres to show the speed that made her the clear favourite.
With around 300 metres to go, Balsamo accelerated off Brand’s wheel. The gap opened quickly. Once she was clear, the result was effectively decided.
It was a classic team sprint win, but with a Belgian one-day race texture: cobbles, late attacks, reduced positioning and a domestique strong enough to make the final move herself.
Balsamo takes clear victory
Balsamo crossed the line well ahead of the rest, taking her first win of the summer and following fellow Italian Martina Alzini onto the Egmont Cycling Race Women winners’ list.
It was a result that matched both form and status. Balsamo was the top favourite, but she still had to survive the late pressure, stay close to Brand and then produce the sprint after 130 kilometres of racing with more than 1,000 metres of climbing.
The final margin made the win look simple, but Lidl-Trek’s work beforehand was what made it possible. The team had attacked, controlled and then delivered the race’s strongest finisher from a near-perfect position.
For Balsamo, it is also a useful marker after a Tour de France Femmes where she came close in the sprints but did not take a stage win. In Zottegem, she was clearly the fastest rider left in contention.
Hesters confirms her strength
Hesters sprinted to second place, a strong result for Liv AlUla Jayco and another sign of her quality in hard Belgian racing.
She had already appeared in the short-lived elite move earlier in the race, which showed that her podium was not the product of a simple bunch sprint. She was present when the favourites started testing each other, then still had enough speed to beat the rest behind Balsamo.
For a rider with track pedigree, the combination of positioning, power and timing was exactly what this kind of finish demanded. Balsamo was out of reach, but Hesters was best of the rest.
That second place also gave the home crowd a Belgian rider on the podium, adding a local thread to a race otherwise dominated by Lidl-Trek.
Minke Anderson completes the podium
Solbjørk Minke Anderson finished third for EF Education-Oatly, completing the podium after a fast and selective finale.
The Danish rider’s result came from surviving the late pressure and positioning well once the sprint behind Balsamo opened up. In a race where Lidl-Trek had created separation and disruption late, finishing on the podium required more than raw speed.
Behind her, Verkerk took fourth after being part of the early breakaway, while Gjertsen finished fifth after briefly going with the Lidl-Trek move in the finale. Jackson’s sixth place gave St Michel-Preference Home-Auber93 a strong top-six finish, with Bianchi, Uneken, Brand and Gonzalez Blanco rounding out the top 10.
Brand’s ninth place understated her importance. She was not riding for her own result by the end. She was the rider who made Balsamo’s win possible.
Lidl-Trek get the race they wanted
The story of the race was Lidl-Trek’s control. They had the favourite, but they also had the riders to make the race fit her.
Brand was the key in the finale, but the wider team performance mattered too. Lidl-Trek were aggressive enough that Balsamo was not isolated, calm enough not to panic when late attacks came, and strong enough to close moves without burning their sprinter.
In a race that briefly looked like it might become a straightforward bunch sprint, they made sure the final belonged to them. Williams’ late attack could have created uncertainty. Brand turned it into a launchpad.
Balsamo then did what elite sprinters do when a team gets everything right. She finished it.
Egmont Cycling Race Women 2026 result
Data powered by FirstCycling.com
Main photo credit: Getty
