Lotte Claes (Fenix-Premier Tech) claimed the elite women's individual time trial at the Belgian Road Championships on Friday. It was a strong performance and a surprise unseating Lotte Kopecky (SD Worx-Protime) from an eighth consecutive victory in the discipline.
Claes covered the 20.7km course with the winning time of 29:05, beating Sandrine Tas (Lotto Intermarché Ladies) by 12 seconds and Margot Vanpachtenbeke (Lidl-Trek) by 28 seconds. Kopecky finished fourth at 31 seconds back.
The Belgian Road Championships kicked off on Friday with the time trials, where the elite women raced across an undulating 20.7km course with about 200 metres of elevation gain in Etikhove, a small section of Maarkedal.
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The only two inclines on the course were a 900-metre hill with an average gradient of 6.4% that peaked at the 1km mark, and a 500-metre hill with an average gradient of 5.6% located at the 13.5km mark.
The organisers of the event, in consultation with the riders' union and the teams, made the decision to shorten the elite men's time trial due to the current heatwave in Europe, and temperatures reaching 34°C in the area.
With a few technical sections, riders were asked to exercise caution on their time-trial bikes.
Audrey De Keersmaeker (Picnic-Post NL) was the first rider off the starting ramp at 3:24:30 local time, and Lotte Kopecky (SD Worx-Protime) was the last rider to start her time trial at 3:50:00, in her attempt to win a remarkable eighth consecutive elite women's time trial title.
Shari Bossuyt (AG Insurance-Soudal Team) set the first benchmark with a fast intermediate time check, but that was short-lived as Tess Moerman (AG-Insurance Soudal) crossed the line six seconds faster. Claes stormed across the intermediate checkpoints and the finish line with the benchmark time of 29:05. Tas and Vanpachtenbeke were the next fastest on course.
By the time Kopecky started and hit the first time check with the fourth fastest time, it was apparent that she would struggle to gain time back in the last sections of the course, ultimately finishing in fourth place.
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