Waiting for the Strade Bianche, successes also for Olga Shekel in Ukraine
Just one month until the Strade Bianche that will mark the restart of the international activity of the Astana Women’s Team, but in the meantime some riders of the team have already started competing and winning in some minor competitions at national or a little more level. This is the case, for example, of the young Lithuanian Olivija Baleisyte who last night in the center of Riga won the BSC Group GP, the first race of the Latvian Cup: the race took place on a circuit to be repeated 18 times for a total of about 100 kilometers and the 21 year old Baleisyte was the fastest in the final sprint ahead of the local Lija Laizane.
A few days ago, however, it was the Ukrainian Olga Shekel who climbed twice on the top step of the podium in the context of a three-days competition organized by the Ukrainian federation in the city of Bila Cerkva, not far from Kiev. Shekel first won a 25-kilometer time trial and then repeated herself in a road stage with a good breakaway in the last 12 kilometers that allowed her to keep the peloton at a distance; nice performances also came from the other cyclist of the Astana Women’s Team, the 29 year old Marina Ivanyuk who obtained a second place on the other day of this competition. For Ivanyuk and Shekel, therefore, good indications have arrived ahead of the National Championships which will be held from 15 to 19 of July.