Lorena Wiebes clinched victory in the first road stage of the 2024 Baloise Ladies Tour, a 113.8 km race from Breskens in the Netherlands to Knokke-Heist in Belgium. The Dutch rider from SD Worx-Protime outpaced her rivals in a gripping uphill sprint finish on the Wandelaar, securing her second win in as many days after taking the prologue the previous evening.
Wiebes led the charge in the final metres, leaving behind Charlotte Kool and Rachele Barbieri, both of dsm-firmenich PostNL. This victory marks her 14th of the season and her 85th career win, equalling Jolien D’hoore’s record of eight stage wins in this event, previously known as the BeNe Ladies Tour.
In the general classification, Wiebes now holds a 12-second lead over Kool, with Britain’s Pfeiffer Georgi 13 seconds behind in third place. Fien Van Eynde of Fenix-Deceuninck sits in fifth, trailing by 17 seconds.
The race commenced in Zeeland, starting from Breskens, and featured a flat course leading to a local lap of approximately 30 km in Knokke-Heist. An early sprint saw Wiebes taking bonus seconds, bolstering her lead. The peloton remained largely compact, with sporadic breakaway attempts, including one by Sara Fiorin of UAE Team ADQ, the recent winner of ZLM Omloop der Kempen, which was neutralised ahead of the final local lap.
Despite how the stage went, the closing stages were marked by heightened tension and several crashes. One significant fall involved Pfeiffer Georgi, but she managed to rejoin the peloton and assist her teammates in the sprint setup. Another crash occurred close to the finish line, affecting several riders, including Christine Majerus who had derailleur issues.
Reflecting on the day’s race, Wiebes commented, “It was very nervous today. That’s why we rode at the front the whole race. We didn’t want to get into trouble. At five kilometres from the end, we escaped. Right next to us there was a crash. I was in the verge, but without crashing or serious consequences. And someone crashed into Christine Majerus’ bike, after which she had derailleur problems. That meant I missed my lead-out woman for the final sprint, but Femke Gerritse kept me safe in the last kilometres. At about 150 metres from the line I went on, as the time was there to accelerate. It’s nice that nobody else came over and so I take my second win of this Baloise Ladies Tour.”
Wiebes also shared her thoughts on her preparation for the Olympics, saying, “I think this is the ideal preparation for the Olympics. The goal is clear: stay safe, gain the percentages and gain confidence ahead of the road race. Today I fortunately stayed straight, despite the many crashes. Thanks to this win, I am doing well in the general classification. I also made it a goal. That’s also why I competed fully in the first intermediate sprint. With this win and bonification seconds I strengthen my leading position.”
Team dsm-firmenich PostNL’s Charlotte Kool acknowledged the day’s efforts, saying, “The team rode well as a unit all day and looked after me well. I think there were a lot of positive things we can say about today’s stage but there also some improvements that we can take into the next stages. It’s nice we have the opportunity in this race to make it perfect in the next sprint stages.”
Coach Albert Timmer added, “I think in general it was good today, the team rode well together. Silje had a bit of a crash but she’s doing fine at the moment. Otherwise, I think the lead-out was good until around 500 metres to go, where we had a bit of a miscommunication at that moment. I think we waited a bit too long to start the sprint. Until that point it was really good, but we have some things to improve and work on in the coming days, so we’re all really motivated to do that and get on the top step.”
The Baloise Ladies Tour continues on Friday with a 126.8 km stage around Zulte. The competition will conclude on Sunday in Deinze. Defending champion Lucinda Brand will be among those vying for the overall title.
2024 Baloise Ladies Tour Stage 1 result
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