Lorena Wiebes (Photo: © Roth&Roth / SCA)
Lorena Wiebes has won the next gold medal for the Dutch team at the European Road Championships. In the women’s road race, she won the mass sprint ahead of Elisa Balsam (Italy) and Daria Pikulik (Poland). As the best German rider, Franziska Koch finished 13th in Hasselt.
For Lorena Wiebes it is the second European Championship title after her success in Munich in 2022.
This is how the race went:
The women’s European Championship race ran over 162 kilometers from Heusden-Zolder to Hasselt. The course with 905 meters of elevation was perfect for a sprint final.
The first rider to attack was Czech rider Nikola Noskova. After a fall initially set her back, she was on the solo trail again. 125 km from the finish, she was able to break away from the field and gain a lead of up to 1 minute. Around 88 km from the finish, the field caught up with the Czech rider again when a cobblestone section was approaching. The Spaniard Mireia Benito was the next rider to stay alone at the front for a longer period. Meanwhile, the Dutch and Italian riders controlled the pace in the field. 58 km from the finish, the Spaniard’s escape attempt also came to an end.
There were a few attacks in the hilly sections, including one from Elise Chabbey from Switzerland. But no group was able to really pull away, as the teams of the favorites remained very alert. Before heading to Hasselt, the Spaniard Sara Martin was allowed to ride alone in front of the peloton for a few kilometers, but was caught on the final lap around 12 km from the finish. The Dutch women continued to take responsibility and led the peloton onto the home straight. Lorena Wiebes was on her own early on in the final kilometer, but she was able to easily prevail against the sprinters. Behind the top favorite, the Italian Elisa Balsamo secured silver, and Daria Pikulik from Poland won the bronze medal.
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