Festival Elsy Jacobs: Marta Lach wins sprint in Garnich after super close photo finish

Poland's Marta Lach (SD Worx-Protime) was awarded the win in an ultra-close photo finish in the Festival Elsy Jacobs à Garnich, beating Maria Giulia Confalonieri (Uno-X Mobility) to the line by millimetres, , while Sarah Van Dam (Ceratizit Pro Cycling) finished third on the day.

"It was close, actually, I won by maybe 2cm, but I won in the end,” Lach said at the finish line. “It was actually a hard race, really punchy, but we did good team tactics and in the end it worked out."

Festival Elsy Jacobs has moved from a ProSeries stage race last held in 2023 to a double one-day race format for 2024 and 2025. This year, the two days of racing began with the 112km hilly route in Garnich on Saturday. 

The race included four larger circuits with a short climb through Garnich on each lap, followed by four shorter local circuits with short climbs at Rebierg and Garnich and a descent to the finish on the final lap.

A reduced field entered the final 30km of the race, but an attack from Matilde Vitillo (Liv AlUla Jayco Women’s Continental) forced the peloton to react, and although she was reeled in over the circuit's climb, it forced significant splits among the field.

With just two laps to go the reduced front group inlcuded Lach, Confalonieri and Van Dam along with Margot Vanpachtenbeke (VolkerWessels Pro Cycling Team), Eva van Agt, Margaux Vigié and Rosita Reijnhout (both Visma-Lease a Bike), Noa Jansen (Liv AlUla Jayco Women’s Continental), Natalie Quinn (Team USA), Nadia Quagliotto (Cofidis), Steffi Häberlin (SD Worx-Protime), Tess Moerman (AG Insurance-Soudal U23), Lauren Dickson (Handsling Alba Development), Ségolène Thomas (St Michel-Preference Home-Auber 93) and Petra Zsanko (Ceratizit Pro Cycling).

SD Worx-Protime teammates Häberlin and Lach opened a small gap on the selection, but it was too dangerous to let them gain time, and they were back together for the last lap.

Attacks continued across the final 10km with five riders splitting off the front to contest the sprint, with Lach taking the day's victory ahead of Confalonieri, Van Dam, and Vanpachtenbeke in fourth and Van Agt in fifth place, four seconds ahead of the chase group sprint won by Jansen. 

“You have to be smart,” Lach said. “We passed the finish line eight times so I knew exactly where is the moment to go and also which line I should take, I was in the front so I just did my line and I was not giving up, I’m the sprinter and I knew it’s up to me to arrive to the finish and I just wanted to win for our team and it worked out.”

Festival Elsy Jacobs will continue with a second day of racing on Sunday, with a 121.6km race in Luxembourg, starting and finishing in the city suburb of Cessange.

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