Determined and quality work by Gutiérrez, Oyarbide, Gonzalez and Biannic leads the ‘Danish Rocket’ to its seventh victory in ten months with a ‘house brand’ sprint in Wallonia. Movistar Team’s 7th victory in 2022
The streak of good results for the Movistar Team seems to have no end. Just three days after winning again with Annemiek van Vleuten at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, and just 48 hours after Emma Norsgaard’s first podium finish at Omloop van het Hageland, the great Danish cyclist from the telephone team has recently released her record for this season started with the victory at Le Samyn des Dames, a cobbled classic in the Belgian region of Wallonia with an explosive profile -99 km between Quaregnon and Dour-.
Accompanied in the initial phase by Lourdes Oyarbide and Sheyla Gutiérrez and carried on the wings in the difficult final laps by the immeasurable Aude Biannic and Alicia González, Norsgaard remained calm in the face of attacks from Brown and the final breakaway from Van Anrooij (TFS) and Guazzini (FDJ) to launch her sprint at the right moment and impose herself with absolute authority on Chiara Consonni (VAL).
The squad led by Sebastián Unzué and Jorge Sanz already has four successes, just on March 1, for a Movistar Team that reaches seven in its total structures and 1,002 in its more than four decades of experience. A number in which this proud and determined female team is gaining more and more importance.
Comments / Emma Norsgaard:
“It was a fantastic ending. The team has worked hard for me, already on Sunday with the work of Aude and all the teammates in Hageland, and being able to finish here, in my third race, is the best way to restore their confidence and reward that work. The end there, with those two breakaways ahead of me, could give me some nerves, but I tried to run as calmly as possible. I knew that I had very strong teammates, focused on my options, and I have tried to keep a cool head: ‘Go easy, look for your distance and shoot’. In the end, everything turned out perfect. This long opening weekend in Belgium has been fantastic for confidence, and now it’s time to get some air in the coming weeks and think about the big classics that come in the next month, which are a big goal for me”.