Sophie de Boer pushing her bike (Image credit: Bert Geerts/dcp-bertgeerts@xs4all.nl)
Sophie De Boer won her second straight BPost Bank Trofee, taking a convincing solo victory in the European race to offer equal prize money for men and women, the Koppenbergcross GP Twenty20 Cycling.
On the climber-friendly course in Oudenaarde, De Boer, who also won the opening race of the series in Ronse, chased down the fast-starting Nikki Harris, and held off an impressive charge of the diminutive Jolien Verschueren to claim the coveted cobble trophy.
"I surprised myself today," De Boer said. "I felt strong enough to go solo. On the climb you can waste a lot of energy and it is important to be concentrated in the descent."
Verschueren, a kindergarden teacher, surprised with her second place finish. She clawed her way forward each time on the Koppenberg climb, but lost ground on the descents. She managed to catch and pass Harris, who faded to fifth, but could not stay with De Boer. "At one point I saw Nikki and Sophie pulling away and I decided to give chase. I was still near Nikki, but Sophie was flying."
Cant had to chase back from a mid-race crash for third, while Sanne Van Paasen (Boels Dolmans) sprinted past Harris to claim fourth place.
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