For the inaugural edition of À Travers la Flandre in the women’s WorldTour category, Belgian spectators were treated to a clash of titans. On Wednesday 1 April, Switzerland’s Marlen Reusser (Movistar) beat our leader Demi Vollering in a sprint finish, following a tactical finale in which close marking and a surprise attack in the final kilometre proved decisive.
The start in Waregem quickly set the tone for a thrilling race. Despite a few early crashes involving favourites such as Puck Pieterse and Barbara Guarischi, a breakaway group of seven riders, including France’s Alison Avoine, managed to build a lead of up to four minutes.
However, spurred on by the team and Franziska Koch’s relentless efforts, the gap closed as they approached the cobbled climbs. The peloton caught up with them 44 kilometres from the finish, at which point the favourites decided to set the race alight.
After an initial breakaway on the Eikenberg, the race was decided 24 kilometres from the finish. Marlen Reusser launched a sharp attack, joined by Demi Vollering after a strong effort. The two women quickly opened up a 25-second gap.
Behind them, Elisa Longo Borghini’s UAE Team ADQ tried to regroup, but the tight marking within the chasing group thwarted any attempt to close the gap. It looked as though the battle for victory would be between the two breakaway riders.
The finish took an unexpected turn 600 metres from the line. Taking advantage of a prolonged period of feeling each other out and the tight marking between Reusser and Vollering, Dutch rider Lieke Nooijen (Visma | Lease a Bike) surged away from the peloton.
Caught off guard by this comeback, Demi was forced to launch her attack prematurely to plug the gap and prevent victory from slipping away. Perfectly positioned in the slipstream of the team leader, Switzerland’s Marlen Reusser launched her sprint at exactly the right moment to win convincingly.
- Marlen Reusser (Movistar Team) — 03:09:12
- Demi Vollering (FDJ UNITED-SUEZ) — m.t.
- Lieke Nooijen (Visma | Lease a Bike) — m.t.