That’s what we love about racing in Flanders. Our men’s and women’s squads rolled up to Omloop het Nieuwsblad, ready to throw themselves into the action. The crowds that showed up to the start of the race in ‘t Kuipke velodrome in Gent were electric. Our riders fed off their energy but stuck to their game plans, keeping calm and managing their strength well, as they clattered over cobbled bergs at high speed and dodged left and right through Flemish towns at the front of the frenzied peloton.
The cruxes of both races on the hills around the Muur van Geraardsbergen didn’t pan out the way we had hoped.
In the women’s race, the early breakaway was still well up the road, as the teams of favorites had left it very late to chase. That made the final climbs even more explosive. From the peloton, Letizia Borghesi led our team up the Muur, grinding past the chapel at the summit just off the back of a very elite selection. She mounted a brave solo chase and came back to them but was caught by riders from behind and then sprinted to 18th out of what was left of the peloton.
In the men’s race, our team did a huge turn after the top of the Muur to bring back the lead group and try to set Marijn van den Berg up for the sprint. With Vincenzo Albanese by his side, Marijn was in a great spot going into the final uphill drag […]
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