Karlijn Swinkels narrowly misses out on back-to-back victory at the Grand Prix de Wallonie Dames, taking second place in today’s sprint, just passed in the final meters by Shari Bossuyt (AG Insurance – Soudal Team).
The race covered 128.8 km, starting from Soiron and finishing atop the Citadel of Namur. It was once again a strong collective performance from the whole team throughout the day. In the closing kilometers, former Polish champion Dominika Wlodarczyk launched an attack, while Silvia Persico set a fierce pace on the steep cobbled section of the final climb.
In the decisive moments, Karlijn Swinkels found herself in a leading group of five riders. With less than one kilometer to go, more riders bridged across from behind. The Dutch rider from UAE Team ADQ entered the last corner on the inside line and opened up her sprint strongly, but in the final stretch was overtaken by Shari Bossuyt.
Karlijn Swinkels said: “We started with the goal of trying to win this race again and to be protagonists, and we managed to do that right from the beginning. My teammates were strong and always very focused on controlling the race and joining the breakaway attempts. In the finale, Silvia Persico did a great job on the climb to make the selection, but before the sprint some riders still managed to come back. I gave my best to try and win this race again – we came really close, but there’s not much to regret. I think we can still be happy with this second place.”
(ph. Getty Sport)
