Lucinda Model (Baloise Trek Lions) powered to victory in Overijse within the second spherical of the Superprestige on Sunday, the Dutch champion storming away solo forward of an aesthetic area of riders.
Model didn’t have the perfect of begins however dragged her approach throughout to the lead group on the second of six laps, earlier than beginning her assault on the third lap. By the tip of the fourth lap, she was alone and, regardless of the world champion Fem van Empel (Visma-Lease a Bike) main the chase behind, she held agency to win by 9 seconds.
Italian champion Sara Casasola (Crelan-Corendon) clinched the ultimate spot on the rostrum, a final-lap mistake costing her after a formidable experience during which she however completed comfortably away from final week’s winner Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado (Fenix-Deceuninck) in fourth place.
“I fully missed my begin – I could not get into my pedals,” Model admitted in her post-race interview. “I additionally needed to run on the primary climb, so I had a number of floor to make up, however I attempted to do it at my very own tempo.”
That she did, dragging her approach up alongside Blanka Vas (SD Worx-Protime) and Inge van der Heijden (Crelan-Corendon) to achieve the early frontrunning trio of Van Empel, Casasola, and Helene Clauzel (Van Rysel Cross Staff). One of many keys to the race was that Alvarado, the previous world champion, had suffered a fair worse begin, and spent a lot of the second lap chasing alone off the again of the group.
She made contact in the direction of the tip of that lap however had treasured little time to get well by the point Model burst out of the saddle and went hell for leather-based from the beginning of the third lap.
“I hoped they’d preserve a tough tempo up entrance to maintain Alvarado behind nevertheless it did not occur, so I needed to do it myself,” Model defined. “A tough race fits me anyway.”
At first, solely Casasola might observe Model, and the pair of them crossed the road on the finish of the third lap with a five-second lead over Van Empel and the remainder of that lead group in items behind. Model continued her assault on the fourth lap, utilizing the principle climb early on the circuit, thick with heavy mud, to stomp away from Casasola, who dropped again to Van Empel to cross the road 11 seconds in arrears with two laps to go.
The penultimate lap noticed a scare for Model as she slipped out on the twisting sandy ‘carousel’ part, not falling herself however having to select her bike off the bottom. Nonetheless, regardless of that mistake, she solely conceded a second of her lead on that lap.
The ultimate lap threatened to provide a dramatic finale as Van Empel left Casasola behind – the Italian struggling up that early climb – and commenced to make severe inroads. Nevertheless, Model stored her cool and rode faultlessly by means of the technical twists in the midst of the course to increase the lead as soon as extra and see it by means of to the tarmac, the place she had time to take a seat up and revel in her victory.
Model now strikes to the highest of the general Superprestige sequence standings after two occasions, having positioned third in Ruddervoorde final weekend. She is tied on 28 factors with Van Empel, who has positioned runner-up on each events, with Model having fun with prime spot as a result of truth she has a win to her identify. Alvarado drops to 3rd only a level behind.
Outcomes
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