Third place in the sprint for Sofie van Rooijen at the Trofeo Llucmajor, the second round of the Challenge Mallorca Femenina.
After Maeva Squiban’s victory yesterday, UAE Team ADQ delivered another strong collective performance, with Karlijn Swinkels finishing fifth and an impressive team result from ninth to eleventh place thanks to Megan Jastrab, Silvia Persico and Eleonora Gasparrini.
The race covered 134.8 kilometres, starting and finishing in Llucmajor. The early part of the race was marked by a breakaway, which was later neutralised by the group of favourites.
The decisive move of the day was animated by UAE Team ADQ, who took advantage of the strong winds to create a front group of 16 riders, including six from the Emirati team: Backstedt, Persico, Gasparrini, Swinkels, Jastrab and van Rooijen. UAE Team ADQ enjoyed a clear numerical advantage, with Movistar Team the only squad able to respond with five riders.
Thanks to an excellent team effort, the break gained time and then lost a few riders on the final climb of the day. A strong pull from Persico, Gasparrini, Swinkels and Jastrab set up the final sprint, where Sofie van Rooijen claimed a solid third place, finishing behind race winner Cat Ferguson (Movistar Team) and Clara Copponi (Lidl-Trek).
After the race, the 23-year-old Dutch Sofie van Rooijen said: “I have to say the team did an amazing job for me all day long. With the strong wind it was a very tough race, and I know the girls suffered a lot on the front setting the pace. Of course I really hoped to win, but the other two riders were honestly faster than me. I’m still happy to be back on the podium – maybe I wanted a bit more, but without doubt we did a great job together once again.”
The day ended with more success for UAE Team ADQ, who also won the best team classification, the mountains classification with Silvia Persico, and a special prize for Megan Jastrab.
Tomorrow will see the third and final round of the Challenge Mallorca Femenina.
(ph. @gettysport)
