Lorena Wiebes (SD Worx-Protime) stormed to victory at Le Samyn des Dames 2025 with a dominant sprint, managing the uphill finish without a lead-out to still win with a big margin.
The Dutch sprinter was isolated in the finale as Liv AlUla Jayco showed off their firepower, however, the Australian team and the rest of the bunch couldn't match Wiebes once she launched for the line in Dour.
Linda Zanetti (Uno-X Mobility) took a strong second for the Norwegian squad, narrowly pipping Lara Gillespie (UAE Team ADQ) to the line.
23-year-old Irish sprinter Gillespie continued her bright start to the season with a third-place finish, adding to the second-place finish she scored at Omloop van het Hageland on Sunday.
"It's nice to win in the spring, and it's nice to do it in this race, and actually, I enjoyed it," said Wiebes, who relished the 122km of cobbled racing.
"It was pretty chaotic, like always on the Belgian roads. We had a good position every time going into the cobbled section, the team did a good job.
"Unfortunately, we lost Elena Cecchini in a crash, so we had one rider less, but the girls brought me perfectly every time on the cobbles. One time, I tried it myself because I had good legs - I enjoyed it
"I had good legs today, so I felt really ready for the sprint, and I like it when it's slightly uphill also."
Despite the breakaway's success from Omloop Het Nieuwsblad Women at the weekend, there was little freedom given to any attacker throughout the four laps in and around the Dour circuit in Wallonia that was tackled four times at Le Samyn des Dames.
Deborah Veerman (VELOPRO - Alphamotorhomes) and Cleo Kiekens (DD Group) briefly enjoyed a small advantage, and the likes of Romina Hinojosa (Lotto) tried to attack, however, SD Worx-Protime stayed vigilant in the chase to ensure Wiebes had the chance to spring.
The strongest team, though, were not the usual dominant force in women's cycling, SD Worx, but Liv AlUla Jayco, who not only tried to attack with Ruby Roseman-Gannon but also commanded the front position heading into the two final cobbled climbs.
There were several crashes in the final 37km, with Katrijn de Clercq (Lotto), Lizzie Holden (UAE Team ADQ) and Gladys Verhulst-Wild (AG Insurance-Soudal) among the riders to go down.
The best late attack came from Cofidis 12km from the finish, when Slovenian veteran Eugenia Bujak took her chance to peel off the front of the peloton. She only built a small gap but managed to stay out in front until after the final cobbled climb.
With Bujak back in, Liv AlUla Jayco continued to lead the peloton, and by now, Wiebes had taken it upon herself to move up solo without many teammates left in the bunch.
The Australian squad were working for Georgia Baker, who ended the day in fifth after a top lead-out, however, she was quickly overhauled by the superior Wiebes, who powered out of her wheel to a seemingly easy victory - the 97th of her career.
Results
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