Elisa Balsamo (Lidl-Trek) overpowered race favourite Charlotte Kool of DSM Firmenich-PostNL on Thursday to win her second Classic Brugge-De Panne. Like the first time she won the Belgian Classic, she won Trofeo Alfredo Binda mere days ago in Italy. Daria Pikulik of Human Powered Health just edged out Chiara Consonni (UAE Team ADQ) for third.
- An uncharacteristically calm day at Classic Brugge-De Panne didn’t stop the peloton from trying to break the race to pieces. FDJ-Suez and Fenix-Deceuninck were particularly active in trying to send riders off the front, but unfortunately, none were successful.
- The peloton rode into the final 5 km compact, with DSM Firmenich-PostNL leading the bunch for Kool. Canyon-SRAM hovered near the front, as did Lidl-Trek for Balsamo.
- Despite DSM Firmenich-PostNL controlling the pace, Lidl-Trek conserved their energy and timed their leadout to perfection with Lauretta Hanson. Balsamo managed to take advantage of DSM Firmenich-PostNL’s efforts to best their sprinter in the end.
Top 10
Analysis:
- Lidl-Trek was sparing with their energy all race. They started the race a rider short, so instead of touching the wind at the front, they let DSM Firmenich-PostNL think the race was theirs.
- The Dutch team of Kool did fumble their leadout a bit before the famous tram tracks near the finish but was able to get back to the front to give Kool a proper send-off into the sprint.
- In 2022 Balsamo won the Classic-Brugge De Panne ahead of Lorena Wiebes days after winning Trofeo Alfredo Binda. She went on to win Gent-Wevelgem a few days later. Can the former World Champion pull a hat trick again two years later? We’ll see on Sunday!
Quote of the day:
Before the race the interviewer was trying to stir up drama between the sprinters, asking each of them about the others. He specifically said to Kool that Balsamo had said in her interview that Kool was the better of the two on a flat finish, and then asked if Kool agreed, to which she said…
Yes.
Gotta love the confidence! She will be able to try again on Sunday at Gent-Wevelgem.
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