Chantal Blaak (Boels-Dolmans) soloed to victory at Gent Wevelgem on Easter Sunday to assume the lead in the UCI Women’s WorldTour. The 26-year-old slipped away from a select group of around 20 riders with ten kilometres still to race. Gap gained, Blaak never looked back, eventually reaching the finish line 1:24 ahead of a seven-rider chase group. Lisa Brennauer (Canyon-SRAM) edged out Lucinda Brand (Rabo-Liv) in the small group sprint for second.
Gent-Wevelgem Women was the fourth race on the Women’s WorldTour calendar, which was a major step forward from its previous 1.2 ranking. It might only be five years old but it has established itself as one of the bigger races on the women’s calendar.
After the hillier previous round of the Trofeo Alfredo Binda, Gent-Wevelgem was one for the sprinters with a long run of 35 kilometres from the final climb to the finish. While the parcours looked to dictate a bunch finish, such a thing has been a rare occurrence and the closest we’ve got was. Each of the other three editions have been won from a breakaway, with Floortje Mackaij taking last years after she made her move with nine kilometres to go. She would eventually win by just seven seconds over the chasers Janneke Ensing and Chloe Hosking.
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