Ruth Winder wins Brabantse Pijl Dames after Demi Vollering celebrates too soon

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Ruth Winder (Trek-Segafredo) was awarded the victory at the mid-week Brabantse Pijl Dames after officials reviewed a photo-finish sprint against runner-up Demi Vollering (SD Worx). The two riders surged in the closing metres of the race over the top of the S-Bocht Overijse climb and crossed the finish line side-by-side in Overijse. Vollering celebrated after she thought she had won, however, moments later officials declared Winder the winner of the race. Elisa Balsamo (Valcar Travel & Service) finished third.

"I'm extremely surprised," Winder said. "I came to this race wanting to be my best, and in the end, it played out really well for me. I thought Demi had it. We were sprinting and I threw my bike at the line, but she really celebrated, so I thought 'congratulations', because she is an amazing bike rider and just for me to be second, I was excited with that. To win is … it feels really good."

A six-rider breakaway formed in the final 20km of the race that included Winder, Vollering, and Balsamo along with Joss Lowden (Drops), Juliette Labous (Team DSM), and Leah Thomas (Movistar).

Vollering led her rivals into the foot of the finale 1.3km climb S-Bocht Overijse at the end of the women's 127km race. She looked over her shoulder at her five rivals behind and then allowed Lowden to follow through under the flamme rouge. The Drops rider attacked but Vollering almost instantly closed the gap with Balsamo on her wheel in third position and Winder just behind.

Balsamo started her sprint first over the crest of the climb but as her speed began to fade, Vollering and Winder swung off her wheel, one on the left and the other on the right, in a head-to-head sprint, crossing the finished line side by side.

Vollering celebrated too early only to find out moments later that officials awarded the victory Winder after reviewing images of the photo-finish sprint.

"Sometimes sprints can be so close," Vollering said. "I felt good. It was a hard race and I knew that in the climb I would have something left, and I was happy that I was there, and the team did a good job to be alert. It was a nice race."

How it unfolded

Brabantse Pijl Dames marked the end of the Flanders Classics' one-day races. It was contested along a new 127.3km route between Lennik and Overijse. The race featured a total of 22 climbs, but the final two circuits included climbs over Hagaard (500m, 8 per cent), Hertstraat (300m, 8.4 per cent), Moskesstraat (800m, 6 per cent), Holtsheide (700m, 6 per cent) and S-Bocht Overijse (1,300 metres) at the finish.

A lead group of 12 riders formed over the Hagaard climb with 41km to go, following an attack by Sabrina Stultiens (Liv Racing) that also included, Leah Thomas and Annemiek van Vleuten (Movistar), Demi Vollering and Ashleigh Moolman-Pasio (SD Worx), Lucinda Brand and Ruth Winder (Trek-Segafredo), Coryn Rivera (Team DSM), Arlenis Sierra (AR Monex), Georgia Williams (Team BikeExchange), Joss Lowden (Drops), and Eugenie Duval and Maëlle Grossetete (FDJ).

The move passed through the finish line, to see two local laps to go, but was shut down with 35km to go and regrouped ahead of the first time over the Moskesstraat climb. 

Elisa Balsamo (Valcar) and Leah Thomas (Movistar) surged over the summit of the Moskesstraat, and with 31km to go a new lead group formed that also included Niamh Fisher-Black (SD Worx), Alena Amialiusik (Canyon-SRAM), and Tayler Wiles (Trek-Segafredo).

The move didn't last and the race was all back together with 27km to go when another series of attacks saw the winning six-rider breakaway emerge with 23km to go. In that group were Ruth Winder (Trek-Segafredo), Demi Vollering (SD Worx), Joss Lowden (Drops), Elisa Balsamo (Valcar), Juliette Labous (Team DSM), and Leah Thomas (Movistar).

The six leaders quickly stretched their lead out to one minute with 12km to go, but with three climbs; Moskesstraat, Holtsheide, and S-Bocht Overijse, to go the race was still unpredictable. 

In the main field behind, FDJ Nouvelle-Aquitaine Futuroscope, Liv Racing, and Tibco-Silicon Valley Bank, who did not have riders in the breakaway, pushed to try and close the gap. Once they realised that it was too late, several riders went on the attack over the final pitches in the closing kilometres, in their race for seventh place.

Inside the final three kilometres, the six riders raced toward the final climb S-Bocht Overijse, all working well together to keep the gap at a healthy 1:10 ahead of the peloton.

Vollering moved to the front at the base of the climb and the rest of the riders seemed content to let her set the speed, but the group broke apart when Lowden attacked with 1km to go. Vollering was quick to regain contact, as was Winder and Balsamo.

The Italian launched her sprint over the top but was outsprinted by the faster Winder and Vollering at the finish line.