Marta Bastianelli (UAE Team ADQ) won Le Samyn des Dames after she beat Maria Giulia Confalonieri (Uno-X Pro Cycling Team) in a two-up sprint in Dour. Vittoria Guazzini (FDJ-Suez) completed an all-Italian podium by leading the chasing group across the line.
The winning move took shape on the final cobbled sector of the Rue de Belle Vue with 3km remaining, where Bastianelli hit the front with a sustained show of force. Confalonieri was the only rider to match her pace, and the Italian pairing came off the cobbles with a winning advantage over the splintered group behind.
In the final two kilometres, Confalonieri performed almost all of the pace-making to ensure the duo stayed clear, before Bastianelli unleashed her sprint with 150m to go to claim an emphatic victory.
FDJ-Suez had been the prime aggressors on the finishing circuit, seeking to split the bunch on each cobbled section, but they had to settle for third through Guazzini, who beat Audrey Cordon-Ragot (Zaaf) in the sprint for third.
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