Header photo credit: CorVos

Lorena Wiebes rounds out a strong team display to take victory at Scheldeprijs, her second win at the race in two years and the 40th professional win of her career. Having taken the lead in controlling the race all day, the team set Wiebes up into a strong position coming into the final kilometre to finish off the job convincingly and win by more than a bike length.

The day got off to a wet and nervous start with a few crashes in the peloton early on but the team staying clear of any issues. With around 100 kilometres to race the day’s breakaway eventually went clear with just three riders going up the road. Team DSM took control of the chase behind and held the gap at just a few minutes before eventually closing the gap coming into the final 10 kilometres.

It was all back together inside 5 to go as all eyes turned towards a bunch sprint. It was at this point a large crash happened midway down the peloton but thanks to strong positioning from all the team, no one was impacted. The team pushed on at the front with Wiebes in tow before she powered home to an impressive win at the finish.

After her podium duties, Wiebes said: “We hoped for echelons today but the wind was not perfect to break it up in this way. A group of three went in the break early and we controlled it with Esmée behind. At all the important points today we were in good position.

“Then in the final lap Esmée, Elise and Léa did everything to close the gap after which Megan did a great job to position Charlotte and I into the final kilometres. I followed Charlotte in the last part, made a small mistake in the final straight but found her again and was able to finish off the teamwork. I’m happy to take this team win!”

Team DSM Coach Albert Timmer added: “We did almost everything correct today. We had a goal of racing for a sprint and from the beginning right to the end we did everything we needed to do for this. Everybody played their part on the road and what makes it even more impressive is that we had to do it alone today as everyone looked at us. So overall we can be really happy with today’s victory.”