Lorena Wiebes (SD Worx-Protime) scored her third victory in Leeuw-Oetingen on Wednesday, but not in a sprint – instead attacking on the Zavelberg to claim a more attacking win.
Fleur Moors (Lidl-Trek) was the only rider able to go with Wiebes as she powered away in the final 3km, but settled for second as the Dutchwoman easily sprinted to victory on the line in Oetingen.
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How it unfolded
Formerly known as the GP Oetingen, the Ixina Leeuw-Oetingen took in 140km, 19 cobbled sectors, and six finishing loops featuring several short, cobbled bergs, with the 7.1%, 600m Zavelberg coming just over 2km from the finish line.
There was surprisingly little action in the first 50km before the circuits began, with no early break getting away. Hitting the finish line for the first time with 79km to go, a group of four attackers was briefly away, but they were brought back quite quickly.
The next action came thanks to echelons in the Belgian countryside, forcing a split in the peloton, but again the split was soon closed and the peloton was all back together onto the next lap, though the action did see riders begin to drop out of the bunch.
Heading into the final 45km, SD Worx-Protime, AG Insurance-Soudal and Lidl-Trek were all keeping the pace high in the bunch. Every time they hit a climb over the next two laps, the pace would explode, but no one could really get away – though these constant accelerations did whittle down the group. Positioning was also key, as a couple of crashes or riders unclipping did catch many riders out on the narrow climbs.
This all meant that it was still a grouped bunch heading into the final 20km, with a sprint looking increasingly likely as Wiebes seemed…
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