Laval’s Emilie Fortin (Minimax Cycling Team) may have been lower on the results sheet Saturday at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, but was one of the heroes of the 137.2-km race.
She spent 93km in the break, which initially was four riders: Fortin, Lea Lin Teutenberg, Britt De Grave and Jony Van Den Eijnden. Teutenberg and Van Den Eijnden would ultimately be dropped and caught, but Fortin and De Grave kept fighting. Ultimately, they would be caught with only 40 km remaining. But her strong day is more important than just TV time, it also signals a return to form after a 1.5-year battle with the Epstein-Barr virus. In 2023, she had a huge win at Clasica de Almeria, but 2024 and part of 2025 was tough. However, she came around and last season had some strong rides.
She got away early–which was the plan. “We had planned to cover the move. We really wanted to have a rider in the break, so that was our main goal for Saturday,” she told Canadian Cycling Magazine en route to the second day of racing at Omloop van het Hageland, where she finished 47th. National champion Alison Jackson was top Canuck, finishing seventh.
As far as Saturday’s racing, she knew the roads well, which helped for covering moves.
“I did a lot of recons of the course. I was staying in Ghent, so I tried to ride as much as possible in the area to know the start and end,” she said. “The break went away pretty fast, and then, yeah, the legs felt good. We were only four, so it was quite hard with the wind, but we were working really well together.”
She has a new team for 2026, the Belgian squad Minimax Cycling Team. In 2025, she rode for the British team CJ O’Shea Racing.
“Our new team is really nice, and we have great team spirit,” she said. “I think the most important thing in a team is having strong team spirit. It strengthens the group, both when things are going well and when challenges arise. I’m happy that we already have that.”
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