The women's Gent-Wevelgem race concluded with Lorena Wiebes of SD Worx-Protime claiming victory for the second straight year. Elisa Balsamo from Lidl-Trek finished in second place, echoing her previous year's performance. Despite aggressive tactics to split the peloton utilizing crosswinds, Balsamo's team could not gain an advantage. Wiebes demonstrated remarkable climbing and sprinting capabilities, making her a formidable opponent. In her post-race comments, Balsamo acknowledged Wiebes' strength while expressing contentment with her second-place finish, highlighting her team's efforts and their aggressive racing tactics. Balsamo plans to compete next at Dwars door Vlaanderen on April 2.
"She is the strongest now, but I am quite satisfied about my sprint. Of course, we are always racing to win, but a podium in an important race like this one is a good result, too," said Balsamo.
"We were really aggressive as a team. Unfortunately, there was not enough wind because we were really trying to do some echelons, but it was not working. I want to say thank you to all my teammates because they always do a great job and they always believe in me," she said.
"I think it's an advantage that Lorena is climbing so well at the moment. Nobody wants to go to the finish with her. So I always had hope, also because Balsamo was in my group and Lidl-Trek did a lot of work to close the gap," Kool looked back on the chase.
"I hadn't expected the peloton to get that large again. For us, it wasn't bad to get two..."
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