Femke Gerritse holds off Lara Gillespie to win Omloop van het Hageland

Femke Gerritse outsprinted her breakaway companions to win Omloop van het Hageland in Tielt-Winge and claim the first professional victory of her career on Sunday.

The 23-year-old Dutch rider launched her sprint inside of 300 metres to go, benefitting from a leadout from her SD Worx-Protime teammate Anna van der Breggen who had already done yeoman’s work in the break.

Lara Gillespie (UAE Team ADQ), on Gerritse’s wheel, who took the outside and therefore longer line, surged forward with a big turn of speed but came short, taking second place by a tire width.

Susanne Andersen (Uno-X Mobility) finished third.

Going into the finish, the SD Worx plan was for Van der Breggen to attack on the final cobbled climb, and Gerritse to let the gap open behind her, but Van der Breggen "said, I'm dead", and that she could not accelerate any more so the team switched their plan to a small group sprint.

"I focused on my sprint and to be in a good position. I think I was fourth wheel of the group, so I was satisfied with this position. And I thought, ‘okay, I need to go on my on the left side’, and I wanted to do my own sprint. So I was waiting, waiting, and then I thought, I go. And then I started, and I was like ‘ah it's so far’. So I was waiting till the others came, and they didn't come, and then one girl came on the finish line. I was like, ‘No, I am second’," Gerritse said.

"My goal this year was to make the next step, the next bigger step, and to be on a few podium spots in the season. But now, the second race, already I won. So we see how it will go [for the rest of the season]. But I'm very happy with this one, it’s already in the pocket."

A disappointed Gillespie admitted that she started her sprint "too late, I should have gone earlier."

"Overall it’s a really good result but I’m slightly disappointed because I felt really good. I think I held back a bit too much so that’s really a shame but I'm really happy for this and for the team and I’m really grateful that the team supported me all day.

"She [Anna van der Breggen] has been an inspiration growing up, so that was really cool. I’m confident in my shape and felt really good to be there."

After yesterday’s debacle for the top teams at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad including SD Worx-Protime, van der Breggen took control of the peloton in the 135.6km Classic, the second race of the Opening Weekend.

After a flurry of nullified attacks from many teams, Van der Breggen made her presence known with a first attack causing a brief break with 77 kilometres to go.  The former World champion made another massive acceleration on the Kerkstraat cobbles to split the peloton inside of 55 kilometres to go.  

Making the split were Charlotte Kool (Picnic PostNL), Gillespie, Andersen and two teammates Simone Boilard, and Maria Giulia Confalonieri, Cofidis duo of Victoire Berteau and Valentine Fortin, and Van der Breggen and her teammates Gerritse and Elena Cecchini. Also making the splits were three riders from Canyon-Sram: Chiara Consonni, Anastasiya Kolesava and Maike Van der Duin, four from Fenix Deceuninck: Puck Pieterse Millie Couzens, Christina Schweinberger and Marthe Truyen, and two from Visma-Lease A Bike: Eva Van Agt and Nienke Veenhoven, 

Van der Breggen continued to apply pressure when needed, keeping the peloton at bay, and whittling the front group. After another massive pull at the start of the fourth and final lap with 23km to go, van der Breggen dispatched more riders including sprinters Kool and Consonni. 

With 14 kilometres to go, the front group was down to Van der Breggen, Gerritse, Gillespie, Andersen, Pieterse, Truyen and Van der Duin. Both Pieterse and Van der Duin made attacks in the final kilometres but were not able to get a separation leading to the small group sprint.

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