Johansson wins Le Samyn des Dames

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Orica-AIS's Emma Johansson claimed her first race victory of the 2014 season in Le Samyn des Dames, besting South African Ashleigh Moolman-Pasio (Hitec Products) and Sofie de Vuyst (Futurumshop.nl-Zannata) in the sprint finish.

It was also the first European win for Orica-AIS after a disappointing result in this weekend's Omloop Het Nieuwsblad.

"We were a little disappointed with our performance on Saturday," Sport Director Gene Bates said. "It was good to get second at Het Nieuwsblad but the team didn't work together as well as it could have. We had an extra emphasis on teamwork today.

"We know Emma is on good form," Bates noted. "She wanted to go for the win, so the plan was to set her up today – either in a breakaway or in a kick. The uphill finish suited her."

Johansson was equally pleased to take the win, having come second to Giant-Shimano's Amy Pieters on Saturday.

"It means a lot to the team to win races this way," said Johansson. "There was a big difference between today and the way we raced last weekend, and it shows that when we race as a team, we can win. Just coming into today, everybody was more prepared and focused. I think that was really important for us."

The 111.6km one-day race was full of attacks and counter-attacks. The first to go was Vera Koedooder (Bigla), who went solo on the first lap, but her move did not last over the top of the cobbled Côte de Montignies sur Roc. Much of the action was then concentrated in the tricky 21km circuit.

French champion Elise Delzenne (Specialized-lululemon) put in a promising solo attack on the final lap, but she was unable to withstand the pressure from the peloton.

"It's ten kilometres to the finish from the top of the cobbled hill," explained Johansson. "There were a lot of attacks after that hill on the last lap, but I felt like we had it completely under control. I still wasn't completely confident that I could win or exactly how I would do it in the end."

"I gave it a crack on the cobbled hill," Johansson added. "That split things up. My legs were burning form the effort, so I hope the legs were burning a bit for the others, too."

With 5km to go, Delzenne was caught, and although several attacks and counter-attacks were launched in the final kilometers, the group was largely intact for the finish. Moolman-Pasio launched her sprint early, but only served as an unwitting lead-out for Johansson.

"We didn't have any riders available for a proper train," said Johansson. "Everyone had done so much work, so it was up to me find my own way. No team had a lead-out. Everyone was sort of on their own."

"Ashleigh started the sprint really early," Johansson added. "She gave me quite a good lead-out. I didn't think too much. I just knew when it was the right time to go – and so I did."

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