Julie De Wilde took her first victory since the 2023 Flanders Diamond Tour, sprinting to an emphatic win at the 2025 GP Oetingen for Fenix-Deceuninck. The Belgian launched early and held off Sofia Bertizzolo and Chiara Consonni in a reduced bunch sprint after a tough race that saw pre-race favourite Charlotte Kool crash out of contention. This marked the fourth UCI win of De Wilde’s career and a significant milestone after a challenging period plagued by injuries.
With the race upgraded to UCI 1.Pro status, GP Oetingen attracted a strong field for its 128km route, featuring seven laps of a local circuit packed with short climbs and cobbles. From the start, the pace was high, with several teams keen to make the race difficult in an effort to thin out the peloton.
The Zavelberg climb (0.6km at 6.5%) and the cobbled Rensberg provided launching points for attacks, but no breakaway managed to stick. UAE Team ADQ, Canyon SRAM, and Fenix-Deceuninck controlled the front of the race, keeping things together as crashes and the relentless tempo gradually wore down the bunch.
As the race entered its final 20km, a lead group of around 30 riders had formed, including multiple representatives from Fenix-Deceuninck, Lidl-Trek, SD Worx-Protime, and Visma | Lease a Bike. Picnic-PostNL’s Charlotte Kool had been distanced earlier but was making her way back when she crashed heavily on a cobbled sector. That ended her chances, leaving her team without a lead sprinter for the finale.
With 5km to go, Fenix-Deceuninck saw their opportunity and took full control, driving the pace through the final two cobbled sectors. Flora Perkins delivered a strong lead-out, setting up De Wilde perfectly to launch her sprint at 200 metres to go. Despite the presence of fast finishers like Bertizzolo and Consonni, De Wilde proved the strongest, surging to victory in convincing fashion.
“I couldn’t wait any longer” – De Wilde savours long-awaited win
After two difficult seasons marred by crashes and injuries, this was a breakthrough moment for De Wilde, her first victory in nearly two years.
“It was long since I felt this good on the bike,” she said. “Last season, I was constantly dealing with injuries, but I had a solid winter, and that made all the difference. The team did an incredible job, and in the final, we still had five of us together. I knew I had to go early, but I didn’t want to lose my momentum, so I just committed fully.”
Consonni, who took third for Canyon SRAM, reflected on a tough day. “Last week in Hageland, I wasn’t happy with my sprint, but this time, the team worked so well for me. We lost Zoe Backstedt to a crash, and that made things harder, but Maike van der Duin helped bring me back to the front in the last kilometre. It wasn’t my best sprint, but it was a really hard race.”
Megan Jastrab, who finished 11th for Picnic-PostNL, was left frustrated after a crash earlier in the race. “Today was chaotic with cobbles, climbs, and crashes. I had to change bikes and spent a lot of energy chasing back. I’m disappointed with my final, but I take positives from the way I fought through the race.”
Visma | Lease a Bike’s Maud Oudeman and Margaux Vigié finished 10th and 12th after being caught on the wrong side of the late crash. Their sports director, Robby Cobbaert, acknowledged the impact of the incident. “Without that, we might have had three or four up there. Given the situation, we did the best we could.”
For De Wilde, this victory was not only a return to winning ways but a sign that she is back at the sharp end of the peloton, ready to make her mark once again.
Photo Credit: RDL Cycling2025 GP Oetingen result
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Main photo credit: RDL Cycling
