The breakaway made it to the line by inches to sprint for the win on Sunday’s final stage of the Baloise Ladies Tour. Jelena Eric (Movistar) took the victory after launching her sprint in the final 400 metres and won stage 4 by less than a tyre width in Deinze. Femke De Vries (GT Krush RebelLease) was second on the day and Alice Maria Arzuffi (Ceratizit-WNT) claimed third.
Sprinting from the chasing peloton, Lucinda Brand (Lidl-Trek) crossed the line safely in fourth place and won the overall with a 24-second lead on Norsgaard. Anna Henderson (Jumbo-Visma) finished third in the general classification, tied on time with Emma Norsgaard (Movistar).
“Actually when I got in the break, maybe history repeats so I was really motivated, so it was a good day,” said Eric who last won a stage at Baloise Ladies Tour four years ago.
“In the last kilometre, we had some attacks so we were with gaps. With 400 metres in the last corner to the right, I was the first one, I didn’t think about it because the group was coming from behind. I said ‘I go from the front and it is what it is.”
The 89-rider field raced seven laps of the 17.3km circuit, for a total of 121.km, in Deinze to conclude the Baloise Ladies Tour. An ailing Charlotte Kool (Team dsm-firmenich), who won four stages, did not start on Sunday.
Joining Eric, De Vries and Arzuffi in the day’s breakaway were Sofie Van Rooijen (Parkhotel Valkenburg), and Aniek Van Alphen (Fenix-Deceuninck). The five riders pushed the gap to over a minute before the field started to reel them in. The breakaway, down to four riders after Van Rooijen fell off the pace, only had a 25-second lead with 2.5km to go.
Cooperation ceased in the front group in the last kilometre, forcing Eric to the front, where she opened her sprint with 400 metres to go.
“We were a bit, well not working so well in the last kilometres but I knew that I had some bullets still. I knew I had a chance if I just go a lot in the last kilometre, it’s really technical,” Eric added.
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