Festival Elsy Jacobs à Luxembourg: Electric sprint by Erin Boothman lands 19-year-old first career victory

Young British rider Erin Boothman (Liv AlUla Jayco Continental) notched her first pro victory with a searing sprint in wet conditions at Festival Elsy Jacobs à Luxembourg on Sunday.

The 19-year-old launched her acceleration at 200 metres to go in the 121.6km one-day race, holding off four other riders from an eight-rider breakaway group. Steffi Häberlin (SD Worx-Protime) went second ahead of local rider Nina Berton, riding for the MIX Luxembourg-Iceland squad rather than her EF Education-Oatly trade team.

It was a second day of racing in Luxembourg, the day before the former women's junior Gent-Wevelgem winner going fifth in a five-rider sprint at Festival Elsy Jacobs à Garnich.

"I was a super-hard sprint, but at the end I won and I couldn't be happier," Boothman said in a social video posted by her team. "In the final half of lap, I dropped back and really watched the race in front of me, and then launched with 200 metres to go."

The podium finishers were part of the day's breakaway that moved away from the peloton with three full laps of the 15km circuit to the west of Cessange remaining: Boothman, Häberlin and Berton riding with Bodine Vollering (VolkerWessels Cycling), Katharina Sadnik (Visma-Lease a Bike), Nina Lavenu (AG Insurance Soudal Development), Magdalena Leis (UAE Development) and Lidia Cusack (Team USA).

"I was reluctant to commit [to the breakaway] because it was so early on," Boothman said. "But then once we knew the gap was fully open, I went all-in for the breakaway. I knew I was one of the quickest in the final sprint."

The terrain never flattened, with one section on Rue Tubis (200 metres of 8%) counting three times for mountain points, and the start/finish line in Cessange providing intermediate sprint points on another three laps. A few early attacks never stuck, as Visma-Lease a Bike and SD Worx-Protime were active in keeping the race together early on, including Saturday's winner in Garnich, Marta Lach (SD Worx-Protime).

Once on the penultimate lap and under 30km to go, the group had a 35-second margin, the peloton bunched together behind.

It was not until the final lap that Leis was the first one in the front to show an interest in holding off the peloton. She attacked three times with under 5km to go. Each time she was reeled back, and Cusack struggled to hold contact with the group.

Once under the 1km to go kite, Lavenu made a move and Boothman latched on to her back wheel. The Briton then drove past the French rider with 200 metres to go and Häberlin followed but could not pass.

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