Belgian racing round-up

The squad had a big week out in Belgium, racing at Gent-Wevelgem, Dwars door Vlaanderen and the Tour of Flanders.

Gent-Wevelgem

Babette van der Wolf, Kristyna Burlova, Kaja Rysz, Eluned King, Maddie Leech and Karin Söderqvist spearheaded a strong line up at Gent- Wevelgem last Sunday.

As the longest ever edition of the race at 171.2km long, and one of the longest races on the calendar this year, the squad rode incredibly well as a team.

Strong winds and tough hills made for demanding conditions, but the team continued to battle on together. A few attacks went in the early section of the race, but was all back together as the peloton took the first ascent of the Kemmelberg.

Attacks then came thick and fast on the steep cobbled sections, with the peloton splitting in two, and the Lifeplus Wahoo squad just missing the jump on the front group.

The squad rolled in with the second group, with Babette’s 44th position the top result.

Dwars door Vlaanderen

After a 30-minute neutralisation due to a car accident on the route, the legs had a hard time getting going again at a shortened Dwars door Vlaanderen on Wednesday.

The six-strong squad saw Kaja, Karin, Kristyna and Eluned back in action, with experienced riders Alicia Gonzalez and Heidi Franz also in the mix.

A fast pace saw the peloton split into several groups, with the Lifeplus Wahoo team working well together up the cobbled climbs, before the race was halted by officials and the peloton neutralised with about 62km to go.

Restarting the race, the squad found it difficult to get going again, but Kaja, Alicia, Heidi and Karin finished in the main group.

Ronde van Vlaanderen

A tough Sunday out at the Tour of Flanders saw Kristyna, Heidi, Alicia, Maddie and Babette out in action, while youngster Ella Jamieson also joined the squad.

The historic 163km race saw riders tackle 12 hills, seven of them cobbled, and seven flat cobblestone sections, with the rain adding another dimension.

The infamous Koppenberg climb was the toughest section of the day, with the rain making the steep cobbled section extremely difficult to ride. The young squad rode incredibly well to battle the extreme conditions.

The squad will be back racing in Belgium on Wednesday at Scheldeprijs, before travelling to France for the start of Paris-Roubaix on Saturday.