Charlotte Kool (Fenix-Premier Tech) sprinted to her first victory of 2026 in the Omloop van het Hageland, unlocking an unbeatable turn of speed in the bunch finish after a strong breakaway was caught at the last minute.
Lara Gillespie (UAE Team ADQ) came closest to the Dutch rider to take third, whilst Belgium's Shari Bossuyt (AG Insurance-Soudal) rounded out the podium in third.
How it unfolded
It was an attacking start to the 141km race in Belgium, with various riders trying to get away and then getting reeled back in. This continued for around 12km before a group formed, with a break of five emerging in front: Idoia Eraso (Laboral Kutxa-Fundación Euskadi), Léa Rondel (Mayenne Monbana My Pie), Nienke Dullemond (Cyclingteam Belco / Van Eyck), Virginia Bortoli and Sara Luccon (both Top Girls Fassa Bortolo).
Dullemond was the first rider to struggle and be dropped from the break on the Roeselberg with 100km to go. The rest of the break pushed on, but Bortoli and Luccon were also distanced with 74km to go as the repeated climbs took their toll.
The next time over the Roeselberg sparked some new attacks from the bunch as the big-name riders kicked into action, with Marta Lach, Flora Perkins, Karlijn Swinkels and Sophie von Berswordt (VolkerWessels) breaking out of the bunch to chase down the two remaining leaders. They soon caught them, joining Eraso and Rondel with 64km to go.
Behind, a chase group including Imogen Wolff (Visma-Lease a Bike) and Fleur Moors (Lidl-Trek) were trying to bridge up to the leaders, with Von Borswordt being caught by them after dropping out of the lead group.
With 62km to go, Rondel and Eraso collided in the lead group and both hit the ground hard, leaving just three in front: Lach, Swinkels and Perkins. With 57km to go, the leaders were nearly a minute ahead of the chasers, who were promptly reabsorbed by the peloton, leaving a gap of 1:21.
On the Kerkstraat, Lidl-Trek ramped up the pace in the peloton to try to draw out a more elite group, but things came back together. Determined to eat into the gap, the peloton did eventually get organised, gradually closing the gap from 1:30 to 30 seconds over the next lap.
With 20km to go, sensing a catch was coming soon, the leaders started attacking each other but no one rider could shake the others, and with 15km to go, the peloton could see the break in the straights. The trio led into the final 10km, with the last Kerkstraat climb still to go. As the hit the cobbles, it looked as if the catch was about to be made, but some hesitation in the bunch saw the gap actually go out on the climb.
Exiting the cobbles, Balsamo came unstuck on a 90-degree turn and hit the ground, ending her chances with only 5km left to the finish.
With the catch still not coming, Lach, Swinkels and Perkins pushed on as hard as they could in the final kilometres, but with 2km left, it was clear they weren't going to make it, and after a last-ditch attempt from Lach, the sprint trains swallowed them up before the final push to the line.
Fenix and UAE were both well-organised in the leadout, and once Kool got going, now one could match her speed and she sealed the victory.
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