The day after the Tour of Flanders the women’s peloton goes to the south of Belgium for the Ronde de Mouscron, a 1.1 race. Defending the NXTG colours will be Britt Knaven, Amelia Sharpe, Emily Wadsworth, Cathalijne Hoolwerf, Catalina Soto Campos and Ilse Pluimers.
Ilse previews Monday’s race:
“I don’t know exactly what to expect from Monday’s race. It’s a twelve-kilometre long lap we have to do ten times. It’s not the most exciting of courses but they do expect the weather circumstances to be challenging on Monday with lots of rain and wind. The lap crosses town a lot but I do hope the wind gets to play a role and make it a really hard race.”
Ilse started her season in Omloop Het Nieuwsblad. Due to a crash on the VAM-berg she didn’t finish the Healthy Ageing Tour. She recently did finish the Oxyclean Brugge-De Panne Classic, Gent-Wevelgem and Dwars door Vlaanderen.
“I look back at the past few races with a good feeling. I did have some bad luck which resulted in a DNF at Healthy Ageing Tour but I am very happy with my current form and hope to continue on this path in the rest of the season.”