Sheyla Gutierrez of Movistar emerged victorious in the 2024 edition of La Picto-Charentaise, held between Poitiers and Châtellerault on 21st July 2024. The 128.5 km race saw the Spaniard outpace her teammate, Emma Norsgaard, and Eline Jansen of VolkerWessels in a thrilling sprint finish.
The event, classified as UCI 1.1, featured a relatively flat course, which allowed the peloton to maintain an average speed exceeding 40 km/h. Movistar executed a well-planned strategy, enabling Gutierrez and Norsgaard to break away in a small group that contested the final sprint.
Gutierrez celebrated her win in Châtellerault alongside her teammates, marking a successful day for the Movistar team. “It’s a great feeling to win here with the support of my team. We worked hard and it paid off,” she said post-race.
FDJ-Suez, the local team, struggled to make an impact in their home race. They failed to place a rider in the leading group, with defending champion Gladys Verhulst-Wild only managing 11th place, arriving within the main peloton.
The Spanish rider’s victory succeeded Gladys Verhulst-Wild’s title from last year. Movistar’s dominance was evident as they managed to secure both the first and second spots on the podium. Emma Norsgaard, who finished second, complimented her teammate’s efforts perfectly. “We had a strong race plan and executed it well. Sheyla deserved this win,” Norsgaard remarked.
The lead group, consisting of five riders, included Mylene De Zoete and Marta Jalskuska of Ceratizit, but it was Gutierrez and Norsgaard who outpaced them in the final dash. Eline Jansen, representing VolkerWessels, rounded off the podium in third place.
At the local laps there were several attacks, and I made it into the final one; a group of 5. In the last lap, there was again an attack and we were left with a group of 3 in the front. I felt strong, but 1k before the finish we went the wrong way, so the 2 behind us passed by. I was still able to close the gap to them, but that was all I could do. Super unfortunate, but it’s still a podium though!
Eline Jansen
Among the Latin American riders, Catalina Soto from Laboral Kutxa finished 8th, 10 seconds behind Gutierrez. Colombian rider Juliana Londoño ended in 29th place, while Andrea Alzate from Eneicat concluded the race in 66th position.
The Picto-Charentaise saw Marie-Morgane Le Deunff, the top French finisher, taking 10th place, adding to her consistent performances this month following 4th and 3rd place finishes in the Tour of Portugal.
The race ended with Gutierrez completing the course in a time of 3:11:45, with the lead group crossing the line 10 seconds ahead of the main peloton. Movistar’s performance in the Picto-Charentaise underlined their strong recent form, following Liane Lippert’s stage win in the Giro d’Italia Women. The team now looks forward to the upcoming Princess Anna Vasa Tour in Poland, set to take place from 25th to 28th July.
2024 La Picto-Charentaise result
Results powered by FirstCycling.com
Main photo credit: Amelie Barbotin
