Thalita de Jong took an impressive victory in the final stage of the 2024 Tour de la Semois, overpowering the peloton in the final 500 metres to secure her fourth win of the season. Meanwhile, Karlijn Swinkels of UAE Team ADQ held onto her overall lead, claiming the General Classification title after two gruelling days of racing.
How the stage unfolded
The second and final stage, starting and finishing in Bertrix, proved to be a tactical affair from the outset. The riders faced several climbs, including the Côte de la Maljoyeuse, which had to be tackled twice in the final laps. With the overall standings still tight, all eyes were on the contenders, and the pace was relentless. Unfortunately, yesterday’s stage winner Cat Ferguson was unwell overnight and left the race early on during today’s stage.
Early on, a breakaway of seven riders formed, including Audrey De Keersmaeker, Femke de Vries, and Francesca Barale. The group quickly built up a lead, with Arkéa forced into a hard chase to close the gap. The peloton, however, kept the breakaway in check, particularly on the climbs, where the gap fluctuated but never fully extended beyond two minutes.
As the race approached its final phase, the breakaway began to falter, particularly in the final lap of the course. De Vries launched an attack from the group, with Barale following, but the peloton was closing fast. By the time they reached the final kilometre, their lead had dwindled to just a handful of seconds.
De Jong, positioned well in the chasing group, bided her time before making her move. With 500 metres to go, she launched her sprint, catching and passing the two remaining breakaway riders to cross the line first. Karlijn Swinkels, who had marked her rivals well throughout the day, sprinted to second place, securing her the overall victory.
Reactions from the riders
Thalita de Jong was delighted with her victory, reflecting on how her team controlled the race. “We were able to stay in control the whole time,” de Jong said. “I stayed close to the other GC riders and competed for the first mountain points to make sure I had the mountain jersey secured. When the breakaway was caught, I knew I had to go all out. I had the two leaders in sight, and that gave me a nice target. I sat down briefly but knew I had to keep pushing to win. I’m really happy with how it went.”
Karlijn Swinkels, celebrating her overall victory, admitted that it had been a challenging race. “I really enjoyed the race today,” she said. “We had some girls in the breakaway, and although we were a little worried because there were also well-placed riders in the general classification, we managed to close the gap.” Speaking about her GC win, Swinkels added, “I gave it my all in the sprint, and I’m happy to have won the General Classification.”
Femke de Vries, who came so close to taking the stage victory for Visma | Lease a Bike, expressed her frustration at being caught so late in the race. “When we started the last steep climb and still had a minute-and-a-half lead, I thought: we can succeed. But when everyone rejoined, the cooperation was gone, and I made an all-or-nothing attempt to stay away. I got one rider with me, but 200 metres from the finish, we were caught at great speed. It’s a shame, but we really raced to win.”
Francesca Barale, who also featured in the final breakaway, echoed a similar sentiment, stating, “I thought we had it. We actually had two minutes, but then on the last lap, we were looking at each other a bit, and the gap came down. I went with an attack on the last climb, but we got caught with 500 metres to go.”
2024 Tour de la Semois Stage 2 result
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2024 Tour de la Semois GC result
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