Marta Lach wins route-shortened Festival Elsy Jacobs à Luxembourg
Ceratizit-WNT rider defends title after race shortened due to local fire near route
Marta Lach (Ceratizit-WNT) repeated with the victory at Sunday’s Festival Elsy Jacobs à Luxembourg on a course abbreviated by 15.2km due to a local fire on the route. Scarlett Souren (VolkerWessels Women’s Pro Cycling) took second ahead of Anouska Koster (Uno-X Mobility) from the bunch sprint in Cessange.
A total of 121.6 kilometres was planned for a route that included eight laps of a 15.2km circuit, but the race concluded after the seventh lap when local officials were summoned to take care of a structure fire near the roadside. Sweeping to the south-west through Leudelange and Roedgen, the peloton was able to complete a trio of climbs at Tubis plus three intermediate sprints at the start/finish line in Cessange.
Attempts for any breakaways on the opening loops were shut down by Ceratizit-WNT. Team SD Worx took to the pacesetting at the mid-point of the race and scattered one-third of the peloton from the back. It was not until the final circuit that Uno-X tried to detach more riders on the final climb of Tubis, just under half a kilometre at 9.5% gradient.
Approaching the sprint finish with 52 riders working for positions, Koster accelerated to the front. Lach would make the pass for the victory, Souren just edging Koster at the line for second.
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Jackie has been involved in professional sports for more than 30 years in news reporting, sports marketing and public relations. She founded Peloton Sports in 1998, a sports marketing and public relations agency, which managed projects for Tour de Georgia, Larry H. Miller Tour of Utah and USA Cycling. She also founded Bike Alpharetta Inc, a Georgia non-profit to promote safe cycling. She is proud to have worked in professional baseball for six years - from selling advertising to pulling the tarp for several minor league teams. She has climbed l'Alpe d'Huez three times (not fast). Her favorite road and gravel rides are around horse farms in north Georgia (USA) and around lavender fields in Provence (France), and some mtb rides in Park City, Utah (USA).
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