Lorena Wiebes grabs another victory for Team DSM in Scheldeprijs 2022 in a tight sprint finish

Updated 06/04/2022 at 17:47 GMT

Lorena Wiebes continued her strong early-season form with victory in Schoten, crossing the line first for Team DSM in a bunch sprint to back up her victory here last year. After a three-rider breakaway had set the early pace, the race came back together with 5km to go and Team DSM controlled the pace to propel their sprinter to the front at the perfect moment.

Scheldeprijs women's race highlights as Wiebes wins for second year in a row

Lorena Wiebes made it back to back victories in Scheldeprijs, sprinting her way to victory to take her 40th win and second in Schoten after winning the inaugural race here last year.

The Team DSM rider negotiated the 138km route safely tucked up in the peloton, before being led out superbly by her team mates to cross the line in style. Chiara Consonni (Valcar - Travel & Service) and Rachele Barbieri (Liv Racing Xstra) completed the podium.

The one-day race for the women started out from Schoten in dank and cold conditions, with overnight rain leaving the departing roads greasy. Far from ideal conditions for what was expected to end in a sprint finish, and indeed there were a couple of early crashes towards the back of the peloton, with Margot Pompanon coming off the worst and hitting the deck.

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She was able to get up and continue, quickly reaching the back of the peloton with no obvious signs of injury.

With 105km to go, three riders managed to establish a breakaway - Abi Smith (EF Education – Tibco – SVB) putting down the power and taking Megan Armitage (IBCT) and Simone Boilard (St Michel – Auber 93) with her, as they were allowed to slip up the road and build up a one-minute advantage.

There was no reaction from the peloton full stop for a large chunk of the race, the riders content to grab food and water, chatting amongst themselves and no one team keen to push on, provided that breakaway didn’t get too far up the road.

The status quo was maintained along the flat loop that formed the first part of the race, with the peloton kicking back into action as the 17km finishing loop came nearer, with three laps of that to complete and cobbles to negotiate to reach the finish.

The expected cross winds hadn't materialised, meaning the peloton hit the first lap of the finishing circuit intact – with all the pre-race favourites in situ in the main bunch.

Amandine Fouquenet (Arkea Pro Cycling Team) briefly made a break for it, attempting to bridge across to the original trio out front, and that sparked a flurry of action as with 41km to go, the peloton came alive at last.

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Team DSM moved to the front to control matters for eventual winner Wiebes. They started to turn the screw with 25km to go, quickly getting the gap down to 28 seconds and leaving it hovering there as the favourites started to try and elbow their way towards the front of the bunch.

The breakaway led across the line as the bell rang for the final loop, enjoying their day out with a 31 second advantage into the final 16km. Behind it was all change, with the pace ramping up and plenty of domestiques dropping out the back of the peloton after a steady day’s work.

Smith was the first to up the pace in the breakaway, but the peloton had them in their sights with 10km to go and it seemed a last gasp doomed effort as she set off across the final cobbled section.

Armitage and Boilard were swallowed up with 7km to go, leaving Smith churning away at the front, grimace evident as she got back to a smooth section of road. But it was only a matter of time, and after a grand day out, Smith was caught with 5km to go.

The pace instantly quickened and the response was immediate, a big crash taking out a chunk of the peloton as wheels clashed towards the front – everyone able to get back onto their feet, always good to see.

Amalie Dideriksen (Trek-Segafredo) set the pace for team mate Chloe Hosking, before DSM took over once more. The sprint truly began with 500m to go, Wiebes taking to the front and happy to open up her effort from quite far back.

But no one could better her and the Dutch rider crossed the line with one arm punched aloft to take her second consecutive victory in Scheldeprijs, continuing her strong form to grab a sixth podium of the season.

“It’s always special to win, and the second here in a row, it’s even more special. The team controlled the whole race and to finish it off is great," said the triumphant Wiebes after crossing the line.

Next up for the women is the Amstel Gold Race on 10th April, with equal prize money on offer in the Netherlands.

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