Five 2021 races, five top-ten results for the Blues

Serbian into short field's sprint at Belgian race -won by Balsamo (VAL)- as Frenchwoman goes into late move from 18-rider final selection.

Elisa Balsamo (VAL) won the sprint -ahead of Jolien d’Hoore (SDW) and Marianne Vos (TJV)- at the end of the 1st GP Oetingen (UCI 1.2), held in Belgium on Sunday over ten laps (117.5km) of a difficult circuit with two cobbled sections and, above that, the Bergstraat climb, 500 meters at 8.5% average gradient.

The Movistar Team, which came into this race in good spirits after some good results in the opening races of the season, remained within the top-ten with Jelena Erić’s 8th spot. The Alicante-based Serbian rode really focused into the second half of the race to make a decisive split of 18 riders, made possible by a push from Jumbo-Visma and the successive climbs. The split also featured another Blue member in Frenchwoman Aude Biannic.

Aude (14th), who had lost contact into the penultimate lap, profited from the slower pace into the main group to bridge back and escape for some kilometers together with Kristen Faulkner (TIB). Their adventure was caught before the final sprint.

The Telefónica-backed squad will remain in Belgium to take part at the Nokere Koerse (UCI ProSeries) on Wednesday 17th, with Emma Norsgaard back in action.

Cover picture (c): Photo Gomez Sport