Cant claims Diegem Superprestige victory

Sanne Cant (Iko-Beobank) sprinted to victory at the sixth Superprestige round of the season in Diegem. European champion Annemarie Worst (Steylaerts-777.be) and Denise Betsema (Marlux-Bingoal) rounded off the podium in a tight race.

The trio had caught up with solo leader Eva Lechner (Clif Pro Team) towards the end of the penultimate lap of the race, with a standoff ensuing as the sprint to the line loomed. Lechner, who had been out front for much of the race, tried to make a difference on the final stretch of sand, but had to settle for fourth in the end.

A series of falls marked the beginning of the race, with series leader Alice-Maria Arzuffi (Steylaerts-777.be) crashed from the middle of the pack. Cant and Ellen Van Loy (Telenet Fidea Lions) were among the other notable names to go down early on.

On lap two Lechner was already up front with Worst, as the duo quickly separated themselves from the rest of the pack. Without much cooperation behind, it was Carmen del Ceylin Alvarado (Corendon-Circus) who took it upon herself to chase, going solo in pursuit at one point.

Eventually, a larger group coalesced, chasing some fifteen seconds behind as Worst put in a stinging attack for the lead. But Italian champion Lechner wouldn’t let her go; the duo expending energy that they perhaps didn’t have left to spend at the end of the race.

With two laps to race, Lechner was away on her own after Worst got caught up in a ribbon barrier. It looked for a time as though she would be riding to a lone victory. Cant and Betsema would put paid to that, though, with the duo catching Worst before Betsema put in the attack on the tarmac section that bridged the gap to Lechner.

With the four all together, none of the women put in a real attempt to go solo on the final lap, preferring to duke it out in the sprint. And it was Cant who prevailed to take her second Superprestige victory of the season.

Full Results