Nears first podium finish outside Spain for Movistar Team in 2018

All Blues fight into breakaways at Belgian race before Spaniard rounds off race with good sprint for Jorge Sanz's group, still elated after Jasinska's 6th place in 'De Ronde' last Sunday.

It was a great way for the Movistar Team to close their tournée around Belgium during the last two weeks, as the Jorge Sanz-led squad snatched a 4th-place finish with Alba Teruel at the GP Dottignies (UCI 1.2), a traditional post-Ronde van Vlaanderen circuit race (122km, six laps) over the only profile difficulty of the Kooigemsestraat climb.

#GPDottignies Gran 4ª posición de @albatr_96 en Bélgica (UCI 1.2), en un sprint que se adjudicó Bastianelli (ALE).

Carrera muy combativa de las MOV, con Jasi y Rachel peleando al inicio y @audebiannic y @Glo__Rodriguez en los cortes finales.

???? @VijverDe pic.twitter.com/VzfwcvxILm

— Movistar Team (@Movistar_Team) 2 de abril de 2018

All of the six Blues played their part on the attack into a race full of short gaps, moves and speed. Małgorzata Jasińska -a brilliant 6th at last Sunday’s ‘De Ronde’- and Rachel Neylan got in the mix at the intermediate sprints in the opening laps, while Aude Biannic -a solo move on lap four- and Gloria Rodríguez -into a 12-rider attempt with two laps remaining- also made the moves in the finale. Meanwhile, Alicia González and the other Blues saved some energy for the final kilometers, where they led out Alba and even tried to split the peloton. In the end, Teruel was only beaten by the three podium finishers: Bastianelli (ALE), Balsamo (VAL) and Jeuland (DVE).

The Movistar Team bids farewell to a fine run, where every single race has improved the result from the previous one: 21st at De Panne; 11th -also with Biannic- at Gent-Wevelgem; and three brilliant top-ten placings in Waregem –7th spot by ‘Jasi’-, Flandes (6th) and Dottignies (4th).

Picture (c): Thomas Maheux